Highway to Hell
by TheUltimateGleek123
Summary: William Schuester has a secret he's never shared with anyone. Disaster strikes when a student finds out. Can Will keep the student from spreading it around long enough to make things right?
1. Somebody to Love

.01. Somebody to Love

Will's POV

Guilt.

It's not something you can run away from with ease. You have to face it, put up with it without a fight. "You do the crime, you do the time" may be one of the truest statements I've ever heard.

I suffer through the regret that sits uneasily in the pit of my stomach every moment of every day. It takes all my strength to hide it from the Glee kids. They're all pretty suspicious of my incessant anxiety. I have to be careful, for one of them could very well sneak up on me and I could let it slip out unintentionally.

I trudged through the hall full of kids and made my way to the choir room. I was the first one there, which I had always been recently, and it was unusual; all the kids used to be there before I was. I set my bag down on the piano and pulled out the sheet music for the day. I held the pile and turned, only to be startled by Rachel Berry standing there. I gasped and took a step back, and then placed a hand on my racing heart when I realized it was just her.

"I'm sorry if I frightened you, Mr. Schuester," Rachel said, "but I have to talk to you about something important, and quite personal at that. I'm going to need to make it quick, before anybody else gets here."

"What is it, Rachel?" I asked, reading over the sheet music once more.

"Well, I . . ." She hesitated and took a deep breath. "Actually, can I ask you a question first?"

I shrugged. "Sure."

She took a seat on the piano bench. "I don't mean to ask anything way too personal, but I'm curious about something . . ."

I leaned against the piano, put the paper down, and was suddenly more interested in what she was saying. I was even more curious now, as I wondered if what she was going to ask _would_ be very personal. I waited for her to continue.

"What did it feel like when you heard that your . . . ex-wife . . . passed away?"

My heart sank. My stomach twisted up into a tight knot. I couldn't tell Rachel the truth — I couldn't tell _anyone_ the truth. But I at least could tell Rachel how I felt at the moment it happened.

"I was . . . shocked," I replied honestly. "I didn't know what I would do. I left the town for a while—that's why you had a substitute for a few months—and I came back with remorse."

"Remorse about what?" she questioned.

I gulped. "About not paying more attention to her when she tried to communicate with me," I lied smoothly. "And, before the divorce, failing to love her as much as I should when I took the role of her husband. I regret not treating her with the utmost respect I used to treat someone else I had feelings for, someone that wasn't my wife, but I always secretly loved . . . and still do. But that's not my point. I should have cared for my wife more than I did."

"That's beautiful," Rachel whispered. "I'm sorry for your loss."

I nodded, turning away uncomfortably.

"And I'm sorry for asking you that question. I wanted to talk about . . ." She looked down at her feet. "Did you hear about what happened with Finn and Jesse St. James?"

"No." I looked at her. "What _did _happen?"

"All the boys from New Directions played a prank on Vocal Adrenaline by cutting the sleeves off all of Jesse's winning costumes," Rachel murmured. "He got mad and decided to get back at us. He stole Artie's guitar, Puck's guitar, and Finn's drumsticks. Then Jesse, along with the rest of Vocal Adrenaline, burned them. Finn and Puck got in a bad fight with Jesse at midnight last night out near the forest. It was two against one, so Jesse went overboard and pushed Finn out into the road. A truck ran him over."


	2. Lean on Me

_Please review, guys. It would mean a lot to me. This is my first fanfiction, so bear with me. Here's chapter two. Hope you like it!  
_

Lean on Me

Will's POV

I gasped, my eyes widening.

Rachel's eyes filled with tears as she continued. "Puck tried to get Finn out of the way, but it was too late. Finn broke his arm, his spinal cord was fractured, and he fell into a coma. We got the news as soon as it happened; Puck called everyone in New Directions and told us to meet where they were near the forest as soon as it happened. Jesse had run off by then. All eleven of us waited with Finn for the ambulance."

"That's terrible!" I exclaimed.

Rachel nodded, a loud sob escaping her lips. I approached her and hugged her tightly in an effort to soothe her. It worked after a few minutes. I looked at her intently and put my hands on her shoulders.

"Are you worried what will happen to Finn?" I asked Rachel.

She nodded.

Understandingly, I questioned, "Is that why you asked what if felt like when Terri died, since I loved her?" I knew now that Rachel wanted to know what she would feel if and when her love, Finn, died.

"Yes," Rachel cried. "I just want to know what to prepare for."

I told her to go to the bathroom and get cleaned up so she would be ready for Glee rehearsal without anyone knowing she'd spoken to me or even been crying. She agreed. I let her go through the library so that none of the kids would see her shedding tears. As she went through, I couldn't help but feel sympathy for a lot of people: Finn, Rachel, Finn's mother Carole, Puck, and everyone else in New Directions. There was also Burt Hummel, Kurt's dad and Carole's boyfriend, who spent a lot of time with Finn and acted like a father figure.

I remembered when the kids had sung "To Sir, With Love" to me after our loss at Regionals. Each of them said aloud what they remembered being before they joined New Directions. Finn, the last to go, announced that he hadn't had a father, someone to look up to and model himself after, someone to show him what it really meant to be a man. It didn't take me more than a second to realize he was referring to me.

I felt tears well in my eyes. I wiped them away quickly when Quinn entered the room. She had a sorrowful expression. Puck followed close behind her. His jaw was clenched, head bowed, hands shoved deep in his pockets.

"Hey, guys," I greeted them softly, in a hoarse voice.

Quinn faked the tiniest hint of a smile. Puck nodded once without even looking at me. Both of them sat down on chairs and stared at the floor. I approached the two of them and knelt down in front of them.

"I heard what happened with Finn," I told them. "I know you're upset." My eyes moved to Puck. "I need you to realize that it wasn't your fault, Puck. You tried to save him."

"It _is_ my fault," Puck whispered. "_I_ threw the first punch. _I_ started the fight. If it wasn't for me, Theatre Boy wouldn't have gotten so mad and pushed Finn in the first place."

I sighed. "We should talk about this another time. I'll let you know when I can help you with this. If you need anything—absolutely anything—until then, let me know. You can trust me. Don't worry."

Puck nodded. "Thanks, Mr. Schue," he mumbled.

"No problem." I turned to Quinn, whose tear-filled eyes were pained, her face blank and expressionless. From what I knew, she was in love with Puck now, the father of her baby, and she didn't love Finn anymore. But I also knew that, deep down, she still cared about Finn, whether it be as a teammate, a friend, or a lover. "Are you all right, Quinn?"

She looked into my eyes. "Yeah," she croaked. "I'm just kind of stressed, like everyone else."

I nodded and let it go; it was obvious she didn't want to talk. I went to the front of the room as the rest of the Glee Club entered. The room was dead silent. I looked out at eleven grief-stricken, vexed faces, each with a different sense of concern.

"This is a mournful time for us," I announced. "Not just for New Directions, but for all of McKinley High. From what I was told, Finn is deep into a coma by now. I don't know the doctors' reports or anything else, but I'll be sure to get an update at the hospital after school today." My eyes filled with tears once again. "It hasn't even been a day, but each and every one of us is already missing Finn horribly. He's still with us, even though he may not be conscious and sitting in the room with us right now."

Sniffles arose in the room, and a few sobs did as well. While every single girl in the room had at least a tear forming, each boy bowed their heads.

I backed toward the piano and picked up the sheet music. "Coincidently, I found this piece of music and was going to ask you to think about someone you miss when you sing it. Now I've changed my mind. While you're rehearsing this song at home every day after school for the next two weeks, I want you all to be thinking of Finn. Two weeks from today, you're going to sing this song at our pep rally to show your concern for him and, hopefully, the rest of the school will sing along."

I handed the pile of papers to Artie. He took one and passed the rest on. When everyone had one, they all looked down at it and had thoughtful expressions on their faces.

"This may not be the style of music most of you like to sing," I uttered, "but it definitely relates right now. We'll sing it once now, and I want you to work on it for the next two weeks. Is that okay with everyone?"

They all nodded without speaking a word.

"Okay. Let's go, then. There won't be any main leads in this one; everyone will get their own part."

The eleven members of the club stood and formed a group in the middle of the room. Our piano player, Brad, started to play the first part of Miley Cyrus' "I Miss You." When Rachel started singing, she was crying slightly. Puck took over, followed by Quinn, then Mercedes, Artie, Kurt, Tina, Santana, Brittany, Matt, and Mike. The last line was sung by all of them. It was heart-wrenching to see them grieve like this.

"Amazing job," I praised them all, applauding. "That was awesome. Work on that song, and try to make it even better."


	3. Smile

_Here's chapter three!_

Smile

Will's POV

The next day, I had something planned out to hopefully make the club feel better. When it was time for Glee rehearsal, I had a speech in mind.

"Guys," I breathed, "can you do me a favor? Be role models for the rest of the school. Just stay positive. Find some way to make yourselves forget about this, even if it's just for a moment, and smile. Show everyone that we're strong!"

"I, for one, feel that we're lucky Finn's still alive," Kurt announced, smirking slightly.

"There you go!" I exclaimed. "That's the optimism I'm talking about!"

"At least Puck's okay," Quinn said, grinning.

Mercedes chuckled. "Yeah. At least that little wuss Jesse didn't bust his face up. As if he actually could!"

Everyone laughed, including Puck.

As everyone else, with the exception of Rachel, contributed a little piece of optimism, the bell rang. Rachel stuck around when the rest of the club left the room.

"Rachel, I know you're really upset, but I would have appreciated it if you hadn't dismissed my offer for you to say something nice," I said. "Everyone else said something, and you, instead, just refused."

"I'm sorry, but I don't see anything positive in this." Rachel folded her arms across her chest and stormed out of the room. I sighed. It would be hard for her to smile at a time like this. But everyone else did, so Rachel would have to try.

And she was the one I worried about finding out about my secret; she was a little too cunning to hide things from.

I shook my head and decided to go see my favorite guidance counselor. I entered Emma's office and closed the door behind me. "Hey, Em."

"Hi, Will." She smirked. "I assume you've heard about Finn Hudson."

I took a seat across from Emma. "Yeah. The whole club has, maybe even half the school. I tried to get them all to think of something positive and smile in front of everyone, but Rachel refuses to try."

"Well, it's understandable," Emma sighed. "She's in love with Finn."

"Yeah," I breathed, "but she could at least try like everyone else."

Emma nodded. "You're right. And it's good that you're trying to get the kids to be positive about this."

I put my face in my hands. "I've got them all working on a song called 'I Miss You,' and they're going to sing it during the pep rally two weeks from today. I hope it's going to make everyone feel better." I looked up at Emma again. "Imagine if everyone started singing along. That would be amazing."

"It would," Emma agreed. "Well, I know I'll be singing."

"Good. Thanks, Em."

She smiled. "Just doing my job, Will."

I stood up and was about to leave, but before I did, I turned on my heel and built up the courage to ask Emma what I'd wanted to since I stepped into the office. "Remember the last time I talked to you, when I finally admitted that I . . . love you?"

Her face lit up, and she nodded.

"Well, I was wondering . . . are you still with that dentist?"

Emma shook her head. "I broke up with him because . . . I love you, too."

I grinned. Finally, I left her office. I walked down the hall happily, feeling victorious. I'd done what I wanted to. As I was about to turn the corner, I ran into Sue. I tried to step around her, but she mimicked my every move, making it impossible for me to get around her.

"Oh, hey, William," she greeted me, half-smiling. "I was just looking for you. I started following the scent of failure, and I knew I was on the right path."

"What do you want, Sue?" I asked her, annoyed.

"I was just wondering why two of my Cheerios were faking their energy in our routine today," Sue said. "I would know when they are and aren't faking, unlike you, who thinks all of your little scab-eating mouth-breathers have the time of their lives every day in good old Glee Club! Anyway, those two Cheerios happen to be _in_ Glee Club. How did your little freakshow affect them this time?"

"Everyone in Glee Club is really upset today," I grumbled. "Most of the school is."

"Oh, did the club perform in front of people again?" Sue shook her head. "Ah, poor kids. Your Glee kids were publicly humiliated and the rest of the school had to sit through it. Glad I missed it."

"No, Sue! Finn Hudson has been seriously injured! He's in a coma right now!" I shoved her aside and went on, going to my office. I was glad I'd finally gotten through a conversation and actually showed Sue up without her making fun of my hair for once.


	4. You're Having My Baby

You're Having My Baby

Will's POV

"She's, like, the biggest slut. Seriously."

"I know, right? Wonder what she's gonna do."

I passed the two students and ignored their conversation. Students at McKinley High talked about things like this daily, though it wasn't very appropriate.

But as I went on through the halls, I came across two others who talked about the same thing as the first two I'd seen. Then there was a whole group of girls chatting about it. It seemed as if every kid in the corridor was gossiping about the "biggest slut ever."

I came across Rachel then, who quickly gathered her books and slammed her locker shut. She stormed down the hall, but I caught her before she went to her class. She seemed depressed. I'd never seen her like this. She was indisputably hurt; there was no question about it. Rachel stared at me with a blank expression, one that showed she was unaware of _how _distressed she actually was.

"Rachel, do you happen to know what everyone is talking about?" I asked her.

She looked around, and then stared at me. She didn't seem to be looking _at _me, though — more like right through me. "What, you mean the thing about Quinn?"

"Quinn?" I looked over my shoulder briefly. "Why are they calling Quinn a slut?"

"I'm not supposed to say anything." Her eyes widened automatically, almost like she had just realized what she'd said. She looked down and shook her head. "Um, I've already told you too much. I'm sorry. I'm late for class." She held her books close to her chest, kept her head down, and scurried off. I tried to stop her, but she kept going.

Instantly, I was on my way to the choir room. I didn't know why, or even what I planned on doing there. But when I got there, Mercedes was sitting on one of the chairs. She didn't know I was there. Her back faced me, and I could hear that she was crying.

"Mercedes?" I said aloud.

Mercedes' head whipped around. Her eyes were puffy and red. Her cheeks were stained with little rivers of tears. She wiped them away quickly and sniffed. "Uh, sorry, Mr. Schue. I'll go now." She was about to stand up.

"No, no." I walked toward her. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

She sat back down, exhaling heavily. "It's nothing."

"Well, it seems like something," I interjected. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she mumbled. "I'm not too sure about Quinn, though."

I remembered then that Mercedes and Quinn had developed a close friendship. Mercedes and her parents had even let Quinn live with them when she was still pregnant with Beth and didn't want to live with Puck anymore. Quinn moved back with her mother, but the girls kept in touch and were still friends.

"What's wrong with Quinn?" I inquired.

"Well, I'm not really supposed to tell anyone. She's feeling really sick, though," Mercedes told me, looking right at me. "Like, violently ill. She keeps throwing up and she can't eat anything without getting sick again. I feel so bad for her."

"Oh, that's horrible." I thought about how everyone had been calling Quinn a slut, and I figured it couldn't be just because she was sick. So I asked Mercedes about it curiously.

"Again, I'm not supposed to tell anybody," Mercedes said. "Sorry, but I wouldn't betray a friend."

"I understand," I breathed, "but maybe you could talk to Miss Pillsbury about it. It would be good to get it off your chest if it's bothering you."

She shrugged. "It's not really bothering me. But it _is _really hard keeping it bottled up when I know I can help." She shook her head. "I just don't want Quinn to be mad at me for telling somebody. I promised I wouldn't, Mr. Schue."

"I realize that. If you want to help Quinn, though, you shouldn't have to feel guilty about not doing so when you know you can."

Mercedes stared at the ground. It took her a second, but she finally looked up at me and nodded. She agreed she would talk to the guidance counselor about it and see if it would help anything. I congratulated her on her courage and arranged for her to be excused from her class so she could go straight to see Emma. When Mercedes left, I wondered what could be wrong with Quinn. Why was she so sick? Why was everybody calling her a slut?

Then it hit me.

But it couldn't be true. It just couldn't. It wasn't right.

Wasn't it enough for a smart, kind, truly excellent student and purely Christian girl like Quinn to get pregnant once? Now she had to go through it again?

I went over the dates in my head. It had been eight months since Quinn had Beth and gave her up for adoption. Plenty of time between then and now to have something like that happen. Then something else hit me.

Who was the father? Did he know?

It was most likely Puck again. He and Quinn were dating now, so it seemed even more probable. Then again, Quinn had Beth with Puck while she was still dating Finn. So maybe the father was actually Finn this time.


	5. Imagine

Imagine

Will's POV

When did it become my place to be wondering about my students' personal lives? I worried about them, sure, but I wasn't going to bring this up to any of them—obviously—unless they brought it up to me first, which I doubted they would. Who would want to talk about this stuff to a teacher? It was even awkward to talk about it with the guidance counselor, let alone the Glee Club director.

I packed up all my things, deciding I should be getting ready to go home. It was last period, after all. The bell had just rung when I shouldered my bag. I was on my way to the door when I was stopped by Emma.

"Hey, Em," I greeted her with a smile.

"Hi," she breathed uneasily.

My smiled faded. "What's up?"

She drew in a heavy breath. "I just talked to Mercedes. She told me you sent her."

"I did. She was just so worked up. Did she tell you what was up with Quinn?"

Emma nodded once. "Yes, she did. But that's not what I want to talk to you about."

"What is it, then?" I questioned. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. But Mercedes told me there's a student in Glee that"—she closed her eyes—"knows something about you."

I gulped, trying to get rid of the lump that suddenly formed in my esophagus. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I cleared my throat and asked, "Who? What do they know?"

"She wouldn't tell me who," Emma told me, "but she let it spill that it's a boy. And she didn't tell me what it was, either. She honestly doesn't know, because whoever knows it isn't telling anybody. What Mercedes _does_ know is that it's something that can get you arrested if one of the kids' parents find out."

I couldn't believe it. One of the kids _knew_. I'd tried so hard to keep it a secret, but one found out. It was implausible.

"What are you hiding, Will?" Emma's voice was hard and cold. "I just want to know. I don't want anybody getting hurt when they don't have to."

I was about to cry. I could feel it. I pulled Emma to the side of the hallway and thought about how to word what I wanted to say perfectly. When I had something in my head, I started off slowly, telling Emma everything she needed to know right now.

"Emma, I did something bad. Horrible, actually. I broke the law. I regret it, and I know I shouldn't have gone through with it. I thought my life would turn back to normal, but now I just wish I'd never done it. Every morning, I wake up and have this yearning that it was all a dream. Then I see something on the news about it or in the newspaper and realize what's done is done, and I can never take it back. My life is ruined now. My kids are going to hate me when this gets around school. You're never going to talk to me again once I tell you. You're going to have the call the cops and I'm going to be fired and locked up for who knows how many years. I wish it was never done. I wish I wasn't the biggest idiot in the world and I'd just left my life how it was, and everything would be okay and I'd be just a regular teacher again."

Emma was tearing up. "Will, if it's that bad, just tell me. I want to help you."

I let a sob break through my lips. I squeezed my eyes shut. A cascade of tears seeped through my lids. I wanted to tell Emma so badly. But she would run and call the police on me right then and there. I couldn't even imagine what would happen after that.

Then I realized I would deserve any punishment I was going to receive from this. I opened my eyes and stared into those beautiful eyes of Emma's that I loved dearly and was so going to miss. "I killed Terri."

_Oh, snap! Sorry that was so short. I only have one review! **PLEASE **review! Do you even like the story? Should I go on? Let me know, please!_


	6. True Colors

True Colors

Will's POV

With a quick gasp, Emma pivoted on her heel and ran into her office. I hurried out of the school and swiftly got to my car. I couldn't even drive; I was bawling my eyes out and was far too upset. I locked my hands on the steering wheel and rested my forehead on it. I took deep, shallow breaths.

Hastily, I started the car and slammed my foot on the gas pedal without even buckling up. I sped down the road, wondering where I was going to end up. I rubbed my itchy right eye with great force, pressing the heel of my hand against it. I removed my hand and groaned. When I looked down, I saw that I was almost out of gas in my piece-of-shit car. I pulled into the nearest parking lot and got out quickly. Then I shoved my hands into the pockets of my brown jacket and looked up at the tall white building I was standing in front of. I took a deep breath before crossing the pavement and stepping inside.

I ducked through the door and walked slowly along the white tile floor. My eyes first caught a small boy around the age of six, his sleek blond head leaning on a slightly older girl's arm. The two of them stared impassively at nothing, their eyes indignant. Both had frowns fixed on their faces. Suddenly, the girl's head whipped around. A smile slowly growing, she tapped the little boy on the shoulder. He looked down the hall as well. Soon, they were both grinning widely. A man was pushing a woman in a wheelchair toward them. On the robed woman's lap was a tiny figure swaddled in blue. She showed off the little one to her two older kids, who leapt to their feet and were hunching over their new baby brother.

I couldn't help but smile.

I looked around, seeing children with casts covering their limbs, women with growing baby bumps, men bouncing their legs and checking their watches repeatedly, ill-looking elders with oxygen masks clamped over their faces. I realized where I was then, and almost instantly approached the front desk. I practically ran toward the old woman standing behind it as she popped a piece of gum, her chin resting on her hand.

"Excuse me," I muttered.

She turned toward me, her eyes drooping to some extent.

I cleared my throat softly. "I'm here to see Finn Hudson."

Reluctantly, the woman turned to the computer and sighed, skimming through what must've been a list. "What's your name?"

"William Schuester," I said hesitantly, as I was still shaky about what I'd told Emma, and I worried if, by saying my name, a group of police officers would jump out of nowhere and arrest me.

After a moment or two, the woman, whose nametag read "Janie," handed me a tag to put around my neck. I took it and, instead, tucked the string into the pocket of my jeans, allowing the card to hang out.

"Do not lose this visitor's pass," Janie breathed, blinking slowly, "or you won't be able to come back in. You may sit on one of those benches"—she pointed to a row of three mahogany benches at the end of the waiting room—"and it'll be about five minutes until the doctor comes out to talk to you."

"Thank you." I strode toward the benches and sat down on one of them. I stared down at my bluish-grey sneakers. I began wondering how long it would take for Emma to call the police and send them after me. I wouldn't be able to go back to school; she'd have already told Figgins by now. I started to anticipate the message on my answering machine at home, the principal's voice booming, "You're _fired_, Schue! Glee club is _over_!"

I'd ruined my life by murdering Terri. At the moment, I had thought it would make everything better, make the pain go away. But as my lips curled back over my teeth, my eyes irritated and burning, pushing the knife into Terri's body and watching her fall to the ground, I knew I'd made the biggest mistake of my life. Someone's true colors start to show when they think something outrageous like killing somebody would bring things back to normal.


	7. I Say a Little Prayer

I Say a Little Prayer

Will's POV

"William Schuester?" a male voice asked.

I turned to a young blond doctor. "Uh, yes." I rose from my seat.

The doctor smiled, shifting his clipboard over to one side and sticking his free hand out. I shook it willingly as the doctor said, "I'm Dr. Daren Threader, Finn's doctor. Now, Finn will seem like he's sleeping; it won't be any different than if he actually was. Are you related to Finn in any way?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, just his Spanish teacher and Glee Club director." As if he needed to know that. Why not just say, "I'm just his teacher"? I felt compelled to roll my eyes at myself.

"Then you could try to talk to him about what's happening around school. He'll be able to hear you, just like a person can still hear when they're sleeping," Dr. Threader told me. "That's why you're able to wake up when you hear an alarm clock go off. Of course, screaming in Finn's ear in an attempt to wake him up probably wouldn't be a good idea." He grinned, and I laughed softly.

"Thank you, Dr. Threader."

"No problem. You have an hour." He turned to walk away, but then stopped and pivoted again. "Oh, one more thing. If the heart monitor starts going faster or slower than normal, get in contact with a nurse right away. They'll be all over the halls if you don't have time to reach the button to call one in; it's right near Finn's head."

I nodded once. "All right. Thank you." I stood in front of the closed door, took a deep breath, and wrapped my hand around the knob. Cautiously, I turned it and entered the bright room, closing the door behind me. Finn lay there, motionless, his eyes closed. A clear tube ran across his face, right under his nose. He wore a white-and-blue hospital gown. The baby blue blanket was pulled up to his chest, and his arms were above it, his left one elevated in a cast and a sling. His back was straight, being aligned by something I couldn't see. If I hadn't known he was at a complete loss of consciousness, I would have guessed he was sleeping, just like Dr. Threader had said.

I sat on the edge of the bed and smirked faintly. "Hey, Finn," I murmured. "You doing all right?" I shook my head. "Uh, stupid question. You've got a broken arm and a fractured spine, aside from being in a coma."

In my mind, Finn's voice said, _I would've asked the same thing,_ as he laughed. It was amazing how clear it sounded in my head, as if he actually were talking to me.

I grinned. "The school's starting to find out about this; everyone's pretty bummed out," I told Finn. "Especially New Directions. It's barely been two days. And yet, we're all just as clinically depressed as the time Vocal Adrenaline played the first prank on us, and we though they'd definitely take us down at Regionals."

_And that they did. _Finn's voice echoed in my mind.

"Yes, they did." I nodded. "We're waiting on you to come back and make us all feel better again. McKinley's dark and dreary with everyone moping, and there's a rumor going around about Quinn."

_What is it?_

"I'm not really sure," I said, "but I think it's that she's pregnant for the second time."

_Oh, _Finn's voice said very softly. I could picture the poor kid bowing his head, swallowing hard, his lips pursed and his eyebrows together. He always did that when he felt awkward or upset and he tried to be subtle about it. The only time I could remember him doing it at the moment I thought of it was when Puck sang the song "Beth" by Kiss for Quinn, and afterward, Puck had said, "I'd really like to be there when she's born," and I caught a glimpse of Finn making his awkwardly upset face.

"I know. I can't believe it. I feel bad for her," I stated, and sighed. "Well, she wasn't in school today, and I just started hearing the rumors today. And I caught Mercedes crying about it . . . All signs point to the same thing. I kind of jumped to conclusions, but with good evidence." I took a deep breath. "I guess it's none of my business, though. But what is my business . . . Well, I admitted something to Emma today. Something . . . awful that I did."

_It couldn't be that bad._

"It is that bad," I disagreed. "I hurt someone. _Killed_ someone. And that someone is my ex-wife Terri. I killed her to try and get my life back to the way it used to be. Stupidest thing I've ever done."

_Pretty stupid, Mr. Schue._

"I know," I sighed, shoving my face into my hands. I looked up at Finn then, at his tranquil, immobile self. I decided to change the subject then. "You know, I hope you wake up soon, Finn. Everybody is going to be so excited when you come back to school, and I know your mom and Mr. Hummel will be ecstatic that you're all right."

_Yeah, I guess. How's Glee without me? Like, who has my solos and stuff?_

"Well, it's only been two days. We haven't really been working on any songs." For some reason, I didn't want to tell Finn about the Glee kids singing "I Miss You" in his honor next Friday. First of all, he wouldn't even remember me telling him about it when he awoke. Second, even if he did, he probably wouldn't be awake by that time. I just felt like I couldn't ruin the surprise either way.

I sighed, standing up. "I should probably head on out. Is it okay if I swing by every once in a while until you wake up?" I asked.

_That'd be awesome._

I was just imagining the replies I wanted in Finn's tone of voice. But not just in the way his voice sounds, but the way he words his sentences. His deep, awkward way of speaking that just seems to shout, "I don't understand big words."

I went to the door of the hospital room. Before leaving, I turned and nodded once at Finn. "I'll say a prayer for you," I whispered, and strode into the hall.


	8. Loser

Loser

Will's POV

I got in my car and hurried off to my apartment. When I got home, I pulled into the parking lot, turned of the engine, and put the car in park. I pulled off my seatbelt and sighed. I had nothing to do from this point.

_Might as well turn myself in now,_ I thought to myself. What difference would it make if I turned myself in to the cops now, rather than letting Emma or whichever Glee member knew about it rat me out later? Maybe the punishment would be even worse if I waited and let someone else tattle on me. But even I, who had the guts to track down Terri, tie her up, take her into an alley, and stab her, was too much of a wuss to even tell the police what I'd done and take what was coming my way.

I needed a nap. I had to clear my head. I felt a migraine approaching quickly. I opened the door of my shitty old car and stepped out and, when I slammed the door closed, heard a deep, rumbling voice explode with a loud roar: "Freeze!"

I gasped, stopping dead in my tracks. I turned on my heel and saw a police cruiser zooming down the street toward me. One officer was driving behind the tinted windshield, I assumed, and another officer—the one that had yelled at me—was leaning out of the passenger side window. He was almost completely out; from his waist up was visible out of the car. He was big and heavily built, the muscles on his arms bulging out. I could picture his narrow, angry eyes under his dark sunglasses. His lips pursed as he held his gun out straight, pointing it right at me.

I felt like crying. This was it. I put my hands up, closed my eyes, and waited. After only a few seconds, I heard their footsteps racing toward me. I could tell that the bigger police officer was pinning my hands behind my back, even though I refused to open my eyes. A smaller cop locked my wrists together with cold metal handcuffs. The big guy grabbed my forearms and pushed me forward, making me walk. I still had my eyes closed. He pushed my head down, sitting me in the back of the cruiser. I gulped as the door closed next to me.

I was officially the biggest Lima loser in the history of forever.

Rachel's POV

I stared down at my cell phone screen, reading the text message over and over in my head. It was taunting me. Those two words, meant to make me feel better, just opened up a hole in my heart. My chest started burning. I took shallow breaths, trying to decide what I should do. I wanted to delete this message. But I just couldn't bring myself to press the button to erase it forever.

**From: Jesse St. James**

_**I'm sorry.**_

As if that could make up for everything. As if giving me a freaking amateurish two-word apology could make me forgive Jesse for pushing the boy I love out in front of a truck over a stupid prank.

I couldn't understand how this boy's mind worked anymore. We used to think on the same level. We were both quite intellectual, both in academics and in the Performing Arts. We were alike in so many ways. Now, though, I couldn't even comprehend how he could go so far with a harmless prank. The boys of New Directions only wanted to cut the sleeves off of all Jesse's winning costumes and be done with it. But Jesse and the rest of Vocal Adrenaline had to go and burn Puck and Artie's guitars and Finn's drumsticks. Didn't Jesse know that Puck was ill-tempered and Finn would go along with anything that involved him throwing a few punches?

I fell back onto my bed and moaned. I could feel the tears welling in my eyes, but I wiped them away quickly. I couldn't cry right now. I was not in the mood for blubbering about my horrid love life at the moment. The burning in my chest was growing now. Was it from my annoyance with Jesse or my extreme longing to know if Finn was going to be all right?

"Rachel!" one of my dads, Leroy, called from downstairs. "Pizza's here, sweetheart!"

"I'm not hungry right now, Dad," I yelled back.

"We'll save you a slice." That time, it was my other father, Hiram.

"Thanks, Daddy."

I spent the rest of the night lying on my bed. I didn't fall asleep until it was very late. But I awoke just moments later to the vibrating of my cell phone on my bedside table. I popped up and grabbed it immediately. I felt like it could be someone telling me that Finn had had a miraculous recovery and he was going to be back in school the next day.

I pressed View Now to see the newly received text message.

**From: Jesse St. James**

_**Can we just talk about this? I know I put Finn in a coma. I got let off the hook with a warning; I'm not going to jail. But I am on House Arrest and I'm seeing a therapist for the next month. I just need someone to talk to right now and, honestly, you're the only one I trust enough to tell everything to. Please, message me back. Or, better yet, call me. I want to apologize the right way, but not through text message. I am literally begging you right now, Rachel Berry. I am truly sorry.**_

I didn't know what to do. Should I call him? What would I say? I took a deep breath. Hesitantly, I closed out of the text message and went to my contacts. I went through them one by one, slowly, reading each name completely. Finally, I got the one I wanted. I pressed the phone to my ear. One ring, two rings, three rings . . .

"Rachel?"

"Yes, it's me. I really need to talk to you, Mom."


	9. Keep Holding On

Keep Holding On

Puck's POV

I'm Pucksaurus. Nobody can take me down. If they try to, I just get right back up.

I lay in my bed right before school, reminiscing over the memories of the night Finn and I had gone to mess that Jesse kid up.

"_What the hell is wrong with you?" I screamed at Theatre Boy, grabbing his shoulders and shoving him. He stumbled backward but recovered quickly, dusting himself off._

"_I was just getting back at you," he said. "You and your fellow Glee Club guys cut off the sleeves of my winning costumes. So I managed to get those two guitars and those expensive drumsticks. The rest of Vocal Adrenaline just helped me toss them into our bonfire." He shrugged. "That's what you get."_

"_Shut up, jackass!" Finn grabbed the collar of Jesse's shirt and lifted him at least a foot off of the ground before tossing him to the ground. I smirked, exchanging a high-five with Finn. But Jesse was quick to get up and swing his fist at Finn's face. It didn't seem to make much impact on Finn, but it did give him the tiniest hint of a bruise on his cheekbone._

"_Oh, that's it!" I yelled. I lunged at the curly-headed creep and knocked him to the ground. Pinning him against the cold grass, I lifted my foot and slammed it down right in the stomach. He yelped and returned the favor, whipping his foot up to wham against my balls. I held onto my crotch and fell backward, groaning in pain. Jesse leapt up and wrapped both arms around his torso._

_Finn punched Jesse square in the nose and screeched, "Go to hell, you son of a bitch!" With that, Jesse had had enough. He locked his hands on Finn's forearms and swung his arms forcefully. Finn fell to the ground and slid on the grass into the middle of the road. I stood up in agony, giving Jesse a quick glare before I waddled over to the side of the road. I planned on diving into the road, grabbing Finn's outstretched arm, and pulling him back to the side of the forest, but I stumbled on one foot and jumped backward when I noticed an eighteen-wheeler rumbling down the road._

"_Finn!" I shouted as the truck got even closer. I couldn't watch this. I turned around and squeezed my eyes shut as Finn's piercing yell was cut off by the squeal of the truck's tires. But the vehicle didn't stop. It kept on rolling. I refused to turn around as I yanked my phone out of my pocket. My lids fluttered open. My fingers fumbled across the keypad as I scrolled through my contacts and found the number I needed. I held the phone to my ear and breathed in shallow, deep pants as I turned to Jesse. His eyes were wide, locked on Finn, who I didn't want to have to turn and look at. I growled at Jesse, "Call 911, fuckface." His eyes never left the street as he pulled out his phone._

"_Hello?"_

"_Quinn. Come down Drayton Road, toward the edge of the forest. You'll see me out here. Please, call everyone else in New Directions that you can, and I'll take care of the rest. This is important. Hurry up, please. I'm begging."_

"_O—okay," Quinn stammered. "What's going on?"_

_I sucked in a huge breath. I made sure Jesse was in the midst of speaking through the phone while I said, "I think Jesse St. Fagface just killed Finn."_

I shuddered at the memory. Sure, I was shaken a little bit when I heard that Finn broke his arm and fractured his spine and slipped into a coma. But even the Dick of Show Tunes almost killing my best friend can't drag the Puckster down.

I was pulling into the school parking lot as I stared at the football field, remembering the beginning of last year, before Finn was even dating Quinn. We would watch the Cheerios prance around in their short skirts and do flips and shit like that. It was fucking amazing.

I entered the school just as the bell rang. I had Glee first, like always. I headed to the choir room. Rachel paced back and forth, breathing heavily through her nose. Matt and Mike sat close together, mumbling quietly to each other. Brittany and Santana sat next to each other in the back row as always, whispering as they stared down at their cell phones. Kurt, Mercedes, Artie, and Tina were all in a little bunch, talking about something I probably didn't care about.

And Quinn wasn't there, yet again.

I wondered what was going on with her. The last time I'd seen her was the day after _that night_. She barely even spoke to me then. And then she just disappeared. She wouldn't answer my texts and she wasn't in school. It just got me thinking.

I took a seat on one of the chairs. It was pretty quiet in there. So I asked Rachel, "What's with the pacing, Berry?"

She stopped shortly to look at me. Then she went on pacing, her head bowing toward the floor. "Mr. Schuester isn't even in school today. I don't know what's gonna happen. What if he doesn't come back? Why isn't there a substitute in? Will he be back to help us to sing at the pep rally next Friday?" She started gasping for air.

"Relax," I grunted. "So he's absent. Who cares? And who the hell can sub for Glee?"

Rachel glared at me briefly.

My leg started to bounce. I leaned back in my chair and exhaled, folding my arms across my chest. After a full minute, I stood up. "Well, I'm bored. Mr. Schue's not coming." All eyes were on me as I trudged toward the door of the choir room.

"Where are you going?" Artie questioned.

I didn't look back when I replied, "I'm going to beat the shit out of Jesse St. Bitchface. Anyone with me?" Finally, I turned on my heel to look at everyone.

Nobody spoke for a moment. Then Artie wheeled himself over to me.

"I may not be of big help," he mumbled, "but I at least want to see that douche get mauled."

I smirked.

"I am so in!" Matt exclaimed, getting to his feet and standing next to me.

"Let's do this shit," Mike added, joining us.

Kurt stood and smoothed out his designer jacket. He folded his arms across his chest and swayed over to us. "I guess I'll come, too. _I _may not be a lot of help, like Artie, but I do have the BMW to get us there and to make a speedy getaway."

I looked out at the five girls. "Ladies? You coming?"

Mercedes wagged her finger at me. "_Hell_ to the naw. You guys can go try to kick Show Tune Shitboy's ass and get yourselves in more of a funk than you're already in, but we're not gonna go down that road with you."

Tina nodded once. "Agreed."

Santana and Brittany said nothing, just nodding in agreement.

"Noah," Rachel sighed, "Kurt, Artie, Matt, Mike, you should really think this over. Sure, I dislike Jesse as much as all of you do—maybe a little more—but I don't think it's a good idea to try to beat him up _again_." She looked right at me when she said the last word. I sighed. "Do you want to risk getting a broken arm, receiving a fractured spine, and/or slipping into a coma?"

"It's worth it, Berry. Finn deserves a little justice." I marched through the door with the four other guys on my heels. This was the good part about being known as a badass: people just kind of feared you. They would be on your side if you asked them to be.

And if they tried to talk you out of something, and you gave them an I'm-about-to-punch-you-in-the-face look, they'd immediately cut the shit.


	10. Papa Don't Preach

Papa Don't Preach

Quinn's POV

My family is, what we like to call, "hardcore Christian." That means we believe in abstinence till marriage. I'd always believed in that. But Christians are also strongly against abortion.

When I got pregnant with Beth, I wanted to keep it from my parents for as long as I could. I didn't know what would happen when they actually did find out, especially if it was really far along in the pregnancy. But Finn let them find out early on, which was probably the right thing to do. Upon finding out, my father didn't even want to know what I was going to do with it. He just kicked me out right then and there. I didn't know if he thought I was leaning toward abortion and that's why he didn't bring it up.

I felt like throwing up. I was sure I was about to. I brought my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs. I was sitting on my bed, terribly ill. I turned my head slightly and looked at myself in the mirror. I was starting to get a little pale. My hair was pulled up, little strands still hanging in my face. I was wearing my pink robe.

I looked the same as I did the day I'd given birth to Beth.

I really didn't want to think of that right now. About Beth. About birth. About the hospital. About the pain.

I closed my eyes and put my forehead against my knees. My mind was going in a whirl. I wanted to sleep, but I couldn't. My head and my stomach were hurting too terribly to allow me to rest. I sucked in a huge breath.

Poor Finn. He had a broken arm and a fractured spine. He'd been hit by a truck. I cringed when I remembered the night. I'd been the first one Puck called. I had grabbed my keys and was speeding down the road in just a minute. I'd headed to the edge of the forest, where Puck had described, and saw him kneeling in front of a bloody, motionless, broken-looking Finn. I'd felt the tears come immediately. Jesse had been standing back awkwardly as the rest of New Directions arrived. Girls had been crying into the shoulders of some of the guys while the paramedics lifted Finn into the back of the ambulance. I'd been standing right next to Puck, weeping uncontrollably.

I winced. It was too painful to think about anymore.

I worried about Puck. He kept texting me, saying things like, "What's wrong?" and "Are you okay?" I couldn't answer the messages. I couldn't talk to him. I'd have to face him when I went back to school, though. Hopefully, that wouldn't be for a little while.

I heard a sudden knock on my bedroom door. Mom pushed the door open, a smile set on her face. I smirked weakly at her. She approached my bed and sat gracefully on the edge. She pushed a lock of blond hair behind my ear.

"Are you feeling better, sweetheart?" she asked quietly.

I shrugged. "Not really."

Mom still smiled, but it seemed like it was only a consoling smile. There was nothing in her eyes. They were blank and expressionless, like she didn't want to be smiling, but was being forced to.

I felt the tears well in my eyes as I looked down at my hands, fingers intertwining over my stomach. "Do you know?" I looked up at her, and the smile faded completely. She started to tear up, too. I knew the answer, but she said it anyway.

"Yes," Mom whispered. "Yes, I do know."

I was crying completely now. "I'm sorry! Please don't kick me out; I need you! I know I'm supposed to be mad at you now, to be calling you the worst mom ever for kicking me out, but I can't. I just can't. I love you, Mom. I really do." My eyes bore into hers. "Please. You're my mom. I don't know what to do!"

Mom wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close. "It's all right, Quinn. You're going to be okay."

I didn't believe her. I wasn't going to be okay. What was I supposed to tell Puck? I couldn't even imagine what his reaction would be. What was I going to tell everyone else? They probably all thought I was a whore. I was starting to believe that myself, though the first time wasn't totally my fault. Who else would I talk to if Mom wasn't around to talk to me? I didn't feel comfortable talking to Miss Pillsbury, even if she was the guidance counselor. And nobody else would want to hear about it, I was sure.

I asked Mom if I could be alone for a little bit and said I'd talk to her later. She agreed, leaving my room with her hands up by her eyes as she wiped her rapidly flowing tears away.

I stared straight ahead, the forsaken question running through my mind a billion times.

How would I tell Finn after he woke up?

_That was short. But I love Quinn and I thought this would jazz up the story a little bit. :) Thanks for the few reviews I have right now! I'd appreciate more, but I'm not gonna quit this story anytime soon!_


	11. Hello Goodbye

_**Okay, before this chapter starts, I have a question: Who do you think should know Will's secret? I have an idea in my mind, but I'd like to hear your suggestions!**_

Hello Goodbye

Will's POV

"You get one phone call," the officer told me, opening my cell. I looked up at him for a brief second, then went straight to the phone. It took me a little while to decide who I would call, but then I made up my mind. I quickly punched in the numbers and held the phone to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Shelby. It's Will Schuester. Well, um, this is going to sound very, _very_ random, and it is a _long _story, but do you happen to have fifty thousand dollars to spend, basically on me?"

There was a short pause, but she replied, "Well, of course, who doesn't have fifty grand in their pocket, which they're willing to yank out and spend on their former rival without even asking why? Well, that would be me. So . . . may I ask why?"

"Um . . . you're gonna hate me even more when I tell you this . . . I killed someone and I'm in jail right now. I need to get out and get myself taken care of. I need to get myself therapy or even get myself into a mental institution. Something. But I won't be able to do that if I'm in jail. Please. This is for the good of not just me, but everyone I love."

"I . . . I'll . . . I need to think about it," she mumbled. "Right now, I'm a little too busy with Beth to be thinking about this sort of thing. Plus, my money is a little tight right now. I-I-I'm sorry, Will. About everything. Just . . . give me a little time to think." And the line went dead. That was it. The conversation quickly went from hello to goodbye.

I sighed, tears forming in my eyes as I put the phone back on the receiver. I went back to the cell and sat back down on the creaky, uncomfortable chair, my face shoved in my hands.

Jesse's POV

I knew this moment would come sooner or later. But I didn't expect it right now.

As the five guys approached me—slowly, to add dramatic affect—I sighed heavily. "Look, guys, before you come any closer to pummel me, I just want to point out that I have an appointment with my therapist right now. So if you'd just let me go before you start beating me, I'd be—"

"Shut up, St. Jackass," Puck spat, rolling his eyes. "Just take what's coming for you because you know you deserve it. Finn's my boy, and you almost killed him. Hell, he could die any minute now, thanks to you." He grabbed my shoulders and shoved me as hard as he could.

Before I could convalesce, the other two guys that were actually able to beat me up—Matt and Mike—ran over and each one grabbed one of my arms. I didn't try to fight back. I just took a deep breath and waited as Puck charged at me, pushing me to the ground. Matt and Mike released me and I hit the ground with a _thump._ I wasn't worried about my back, though. Puck socked me in the eye, followed by the nose, and every other place on my face. I was powerless against him. I moaned in pain and my hands twitched toward Puck's arm after each hit, but I still just took it like I should. Puck was right; I did deserve this.

When he was done, being cheered on by the others, Puck led the guys back to the shiny black BMW. Before he climbed into the car to join the rest of them, I heard Puck yell, "Have a good life, douchebag."

I wanted to lay there in my front yard forever. I'd been on my way to my car to go to therapy when those bitches showed up to kick my ass. I closed my eyes, ignoring the aching in my back and all over my face. I hated life at this point. I shouldn't have pushed Finn into the road, no matter how angry I was.

After a long while, I sat up, but immediately fell back down when everything went blurry and the world around me began spinning.

"Head rush," I whispered. A few minutes later, I sat up again. I just had a headache now. I closed my eyes and groaned as I stood, my back hurting terribly. I went to my car and was on my way to therapy in an instant.

"What happened to you, Jesse?" my therapist, Angela, asked.

I sighed, shaking my head. "Remember the guy I told you about that was with Finn? He just brought his little posse to come beat me up. It's no big deal, though. I don't want to talk anymore about it."

"All right, that's fine. Have you heard any news about Finn in the hospital?" Angie questioned.

"No," I responded. "Only what I already know: fractured spine, broken arm, coma."

Angie nodded. "Okay. Well, is there anything specific you want to talk about today?"

I thought for a moment. But it didn't take me long. "Well, you see, there's this girl named Rachel."

_Woot, woot. Again, really short, but I'm running out of ideas. I just have his huge idea but I can't jump into it suddenly; I'm leading up to it._


	12. Taking Chances

**I love writing this story and I'm not going to stop, but I need reviews! That sounds greedy, and I love all the people who have favorited this story and added it to Story and / or A****uthor Alerts. But, seriously, if you can do that, can't you just at least write a review telling me this is good?**

**Oh, well. Here's chapter twelve. Enjoy! And review!**

* * *

Taking Chances

Rachel's POV

"_I miss you.  
__I miss your smile.  
__And I still shed a tear  
__Every once in a while.  
__And even though it's different now,  
__You're still here somehow.  
__My heart won't let you go,  
__And I need you to know  
__I miss you.  
__Sha, la la, la la.  
__I miss you."_

Though not all of these lines belonged to me, I still felt it was right to practice singing the whole song, just in case there were some changes in who would be singing which part. Plus, I hadn't practiced it since the day after the incident. And that was unlike me, not practicing a song when I wasn't doing anything else.

As I was about to sing the second verse, my cell phone rang. I sat on my bed and picked it up, not bothering to read the caller ID before I pressed Talk and held the phone to my ear. "Rachel Berry speaking."

"Hi, Berry."

My eyebrows came together. "Noah?"

"Uh, yeah. Listen, a bunch of us—actually, everyone in Glee except for you—is going to the hospital to visit Finn. I was wondering if you'd wanna come."

I was taken back. I didn't think I wanted to see Finn in his current state; it would hurt too much. Then again, I guessed it would be better if I were to at least ask the doctors if he'd be okay. And seeing his face always make my heart skip a beat. I would just need to take a chance; living was for taking chances, after all.

"Um . . . sure. Yeah, that'd be great. When is everyone going? Are we all going to meet at the hospital?"

Puck sighed. "We're going now. And, yes, we're all just meeting there."

"All right. Thanks for inviting me, Noah."

"Uh, yeah, no problem. See ya there, Berry."

"Goodbye." I hung up the phone and was ready to go in an instant. I told Dad and Daddy where I'd be going and kissed them both goodbye before hopping in my car and driving to the hospital. It didn't take me long to get there. I pulled into a parking space and approached the front of the building, where Artie, Tina, Quinn, Kurt, and Puck stood.

I nodded at them all. "Hi, guys."

"Hey." Tina smirked. Artie waved, grinning. Kurt just nodded once at me, faking a small smile.

Quinn checked her watch. "It didn't take us so long to get here; what's keeping everyone else?"

I hadn't really noticed that Quinn was back. She was standing right next to Puck, who glanced at her quickly and then looked back down at the ground. Quinn folded her arms across her chest and stared at her white ballet flats, crossing her ankles.

I knew that Quinn was pregnant again. Mercedes wasn't one for keeping secrets for long. I was the only one she'd told. We were just having a regular conversation, and Quinn came into context, and Mercedes just let it slip. Afterward, she'd continuously begged me not to tell anyone. I had promised not to, and I wouldn't. The only thing Mercedes didn't tell me was who the father was, and I just sort of figured it was Puck.

I gave Quinn a quick smile before moving to stand next to Artie. Not long after, Matt, Mike, Brittany, and Santana all arrived together, followed by Mercedes. Taking a deep breath, I went with my fellow gleeks into the hospital lobby. Kurt spoke for us all, explaining that we were here to see Finn Hudson and that we had no relationship to him; we were all just friends.

_Just friends_. I grimaced, but let it go.

We all received visitor's passes. We hung them around our necks and followed the cranky old woman's directions to the line of three benches, which could hold no more than three people per bench. Puck, Quinn, and Mercedes took the first one. The second one was occupied by Kurt, Tina, and me. The third held Santana, Brittany, and Matt. Mike stood behind Artie's wheelchair against the wall.

Soon enough, a doctor came out. "Are you all here to see Finn Hudson?"

"Yes," Kurt replied.

"I'm Dr. Daren Threader, Finn's doctor. You all must be from his school," Dr. Threader breathed. "In . . . Glee Club, I assume?"

We all looked at each other, and Kurt asked, "How did you know?"

"Another man came in here yesterday to see Finn. His name was Schuester, I believe. Yes, William Schuester." The man nodded. "He said he was the Spanish teacher and Glee Club director. I just sort of figured you must be the Glee Club."

Mr. Schuester had already been here to see Finn? Everyone gave each other confused gazes. And he hadn't been in school today . . . What was going on?

"Anyway," Dr. Threader sighed, "it will just seem like Finn's sleeping. If anything is abnormal or if his heartbeat goes faster or slower than normal, just find a nurse. You have an hour."

"Thank you, Dr. Threader."

"No problem."

Slowly, we entered the big white room, Kurt in the lead. I was surprised at his sense of headship today, since he seemed to love Finn almost as much as I did. And I was trailing along in the back of the group, getting ready to burst into tears as soon as I saw Finn lying motionless on the hospital bed.

Astoundingly, when my eyes locked on the calm, tranquil body of the one I loved, I felt no different than I would if I'd seen him walking down the hall in school or singing a duet with me in Glee.

Everyone was silent. Puck's jaw locked as his eyes fell on his best friend. Quinn just stared down at her feet, like she always seemed to. Kurt was watching the heart monitor. Mercedes just bit her bottom lip, her eyes tracing the tube that ran underneath Finn's nose. Tina awkwardly looked around at everyone else. Artie's fingers intertwined, and his eyes were set on that. Santana folded her arms across her chest, looking at Finn as casually as ever. Brittany cocked her head to the side in confusion. Matt had one arm across his torso, the hand balled into a fist, and his opposite elbow rested on the hand as he held his head up. Mike shoved his hands in his pockets and just kind of shuffled his feet around.

I couldn't take my eyes off of Finn, no matter how hard I tried to pull them away.


	13. Beth

**I just want to say that I particularly like this chapter. One of the most kickass parts of writing a Glee fanfic is writing in Puck's POV. It is so fun to be able to write whatever I want and know it's fine because he's freaking Puck! And swearing freely. Oh, that's great. We all know Puck would swear if he wasn't just on a TV show. Yes, that's Noah Puckerman for you.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Beth

Puck's POV

After at least five minutes of complete silence, Matt asked, "So, uh, what are we supposed to actually do right now?"

"I don't know," Mercedes whispered.

Artie shrugged. "Someone talk to him or something," he suggested.

When nobody said anything, Mike spoke up. "Um . . . hey, Finn."

"Hi, Finn!" Brittany smiled, waving at Finn.

"Dude, wake up," I said quietly, using my hand to nudge Finn's shoulder, as if he were just taking a nap in the middle of class. When nothing happened, I shifted my weight over to one leg and put my hands in my pockets.

And we were back to silence again. I was pretty sure this was one of the most awkward moments we'd shared as a Glee Club. It came in third place, I decided.

Second place went to the time we'd just finished our performance at Regionals. Mrs. Fabray had rushed into the room, Quinn at her side, doubled over in pain. Mrs. Fabray had yelled, "We've got to get to the hospital! She's in labor!" All heads quickly turned to me. My eyes had just widened and nobody knew what to do for a split second, just staring at each other.

In first place, officially named the most uncomfortable moment Glee had had together, was the moment before Glee rehearsal started and Finn had stormed into the room, face beet red. I'd been sitting next to and speaking with Quinn, but my eyes moved to Finn when I realized he was barreling toward me. He'd cursed at me, grabbed me by the collar of the shirt, and thrown me on the ground. Then he'd continuously punched me until Miss Pillsbury had run to get Mr. Schue and he pulled Finn off of me. Nobody had known what to do or say.

I'd been so out of it as I reminisced over the weirdest fucking moments we'd ever shared as a club in my head. Rachel was bawling her eyes out, near the door of the room, facing the corner like a fucking five-year-old crying over being put in time-out. Quinn was sitting on the chair by the window, staring outside. Santana and Brittany took up only one cushion of the couch against the wall, huddled over their cell phones as always. Matt, Mike, Mercedes, and Kurt were taking up the rest of the couch—Tina was sitting on Artie's lap, whose wheelchair was next to the arm of the sofa—talking about something. And I was just standing in the same position, right at Finn's bedside.

I sighed and walked over to Quinn. "How long have we been in here?"

She shrugged. "Ten minutes, maybe."

"Is there something wrong with you?" I asked her, kneeling down. She turned slightly to look at me. Her lids were falling slightly over her green eyes. She looked as if she wanted to kill me, and I didn't even know why. What had I done to make her so fucking mad at me?

"I'm fine," she grumbled, looking back outside.

"Look," I sighed, "you may not wanna tell me stuff 'cause I'm probably not your . . . source of comfort or whatever. But you don't seem okay."

Quinn didn't even look at me when she spoke this time. "You're right," she murmured. "I don't want to tell you things. It's nothing personal; this just isn't something I want you to know right now."

_Right now_. So there was a chance I'd know later on.

"Fine. But does anyone else know about . . . whatever?"

She said nothing. She just inhaled and exhaled heavily enough for her shoulders to move. And if I knew anything about Quinn, it was that her sighing deeply meant she didn't want to speak the real answer, since it was the opposite answer the person she was talking to wanted to hear.

I nodded. "Okay. Well, can you at least tell me who knows? And I'm not just gonna go around trying to squeeze it outta them," I lied.

"Yes, you are," Quinn breathed. "That's why I'm not going to tell you who knows."

I smirked. She knew her baby daddy too well. I stood and went back to my position at Finn's bedside. He and I had been best friends from the start of freshman year. We'd both snagged spots on the football team that very first year and had been tight since. Sometimes, we knew what the other was thinking. It was fucking weird. I'd get an idea and look at Finn, and he'd be smiling with his eyes kinda wide, and we just knew that we were thinking the same thing. At least once a week, our shared idea was ditching practice and chilling under the bleachers, watching the Cheerios practice.

_Hey, man. I know we don't have . . . twin telepathy or whatever that shit is,_ I thought, _but I really don't wanna just be, like, talking to you with everyone in the room. How fucking creepy would that be? I guess you can probably hear my thoughts when you're asleep, though, 'cause you're my bro. Isn't there a name for that? Like . . . schizophrenia or something . . . ? I dunno. I just wanna tell you to wake the fuck up, 'cause you're scaring everybody shitless. So, yeah. I think we're all gonna leave now, so . . . bye, I guess._

I went to the middle of the room. "Does everyone wanna go now?"

Everybody was quick to join me as I went toward the door. We gave back our visitor's passes and left the hospital, waving to each other as we all got into our own cars. I drove down the road without the music on. It was completely silent. As I approached a red light, I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel to a random beat I was thinking of. When I stopped my truck at the light, I saw someone familiar out of the corner of my eye. I squinted at the dark-haired woman as she got out of the driver's seat and turned to the back of the car. My eyes strained to see who it was. Then the woman reached into the car and pulled out a car seat with a baby strapped in it. It didn't take me more than a second to realize it was Shelby Corcoran carrying Beth into . . . the police station? What the hell were they doing there?

I then realized the light was green. I hit the gas and continued toward my house, brow furrowed. I shook my head slightly, knowing it wasn't my business anymore.

Beth wasn't mine anymore.


	14. Good Vibrations

**This one is really short. Like, _really_ short. On the other hand, the next chapter was so long, I had to divide it into two parts! :D Enjoy this one as it is, though!**

Good Vibrations

Will's POV

"Shelby!"

I'd never been so glad to see Shelby Corcoran's face. I felt some good vibrations coming on—somehow—when she approached today. She came toward my jail cell, holding a car seat with Beth strapped in it. The baby was eight months old now. I'd never seen her before, but now that I was seeing her for the first time, I realized just how much she looked like Quinn, and how her brown hair matched the color of Puck's exactly. I couldn't help but picture baby Beth with a Mohawk and refrained from laughing. Beth slept soundly, tucked in with a pink blanket. Shelby frowned at me.

"Though I wasn't particularly expecting you to become famous," she sighed, closing her eyes and shaking her head, "I never thought you'd stoop so low just to get attention."

My eyes widened. "I didn't do this to get attention, Shelby!" I looked down. "It's a long story that I don't want to tell right now. I was stupid and I still am, and I just need to get myself help. Please, just get me out of here. I'll do anything. Absolutely anything."

She stared me down. "I don't want anything from you, Will. I just want you to get yourself some help, like you said you're going to."

I nodded.

Shelby exhaled through her nose and put Beth's car seat down. "Just keep an eye on her; if she wakes up and starts crying or whining, just call for me."

I nodded again as Shelby left the room. My eyes moved to Beth. Of course, as soon as Shelby stepped out, Beth awoke. But she didn't cry. Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing big, wondering blue eyes that glistened. Her lips parted slightly as she stared at me, wide-eyed. I smirked, waving at her and saying softly, "Hi!" A smile played at the corners of Beth's mouth, and she squealed with delight.

I couldn't believe that she would have been my daughter. I would have been the one rocking her every night, singing her to sleep. I would have let Terri take care of the diapers—I still am a guy, and that's something I don't think I could handle—and I would've fed her and played with her and held her and loved her. I would have been the best father to her I could have ever been.

As I looked at her for the first time ever that day, though, I realized that it would have been strange to me that she looked nothing like Terri, nor did she have any resemblance to me. Sure, Beth had my hair color and Terri's eye color. But that didn't make up for the fact that Beth bore an unmistakable likeness to two of my students, who had been expecting a baby and even _had_ that baby around the same time Terri did. I would have been an overly excited new father, examining everything about Beth, and, eventually, I would've put two and two together and seen that Beth wasn't my kid, but instead the daughter of two of my students. But I absolutely would not have the heart to give Beth away, ever.

But she wasn't my daughter, and I guess she was never meant to be just that.

I knelt down and reached through the bars of my jail cell, tickling Beth's stomach. She squealed again, grinning a gummy smile. After a few moments of playing with her, Shelby came back. I stood straight and looked right at her, half-smiling.

"She's adorable," I told Shelby, pointing to Beth. "Real sweetheart."

Shelby nodded, slightly smirking. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Shelby stepped forward and picked Beth's car seat up. She looked me right in the eyes. "You're outta here tomorrow," she informed me. "But you're not going home right away; they're bringing you straight to LPI."

I nodded. I deserved to go to the Lima Psychological Institution and stay there for long enough to come back as a regular teacher, a sane human being, no matter how long that would take.


	15. Faithfully, Part One

**As I pointed out in the last chapter, I had to break this chapter into two parts because it ended up being so long. I had a big part coming up, but I couldn't choose whose POV it would be, so I wanted to keep it as Quinn's because I love writing in her POV almost as much as I love writing in Puck's. Therefore, I originally wrote this as one chapter, but it ended up being five pages in Microsoft Word, while my other chapters are usually about two pages. Enjoy!**

Faithfully — Part One

Quinn's POV

It had been two weeks since we'd visited Finn in the hospital. I stood in front of the sink in my bathroom, running a toothbrush over my teeth, and all I could think about was Puck. He was definitely catching onto things. He couldn't find out so soon, though; not before people who _needed _to know found out.

When I was done brushing my teeth, I grabbed my bag and said goodbye to Mom before going out and starting my walk to school. Today was Friday, the day the Glee Club was going to sing about Finn in front of the school at our pep rally. I'd been practicing, and I was so ready. Our substitute, Miss Pillsbury, let me have the first few lines of the first verse. I was ecstatic. Besides, they were more fitting to me than they would've been to Rachel.

I entered the school, gathered my books from my locker, and was about to go to class when I was stopped in the middle of the hall by Puck.

"Ready to sing in front of everyone today?" he asked.

I sighed. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I am."

"Good."

"Now come on. We're gonna be late for class," I said, and he ran to catch up with me as I stepped around him and strode forward. We walked side-by-side to Spanish. Some teacher named Mr. Brody was subbing for Mr. Schuester. Everyone in school already knew that Mr. Schue had been arrested. Nobody knew what for, though. There was a rumor going around that he'd committed the robbery down at Madeline's Jewelers, but no one knew for sure.

I did.

But I knew that I wasn't supposed to know, so I couldn't tell anybody.

I'd been running home from Finn's house at night. It was dark, cold, and I was sprinting through a sheet of heavily falling rain. I'd heard a woman's voice yell, "What are you doing, Will? No! Stop!" Curiously, I had slowed down to stop the slapping of my wet flats against the pavement. I took a few steps forward and peeked my head down the alleyway. I'd seen blond hair flying all over the place, and then I saw the body, tied up with rope. She had been struggling in a man's grasp. When he turned just slightly, I saw that it was Mr. Schuester. I gasped quietly. He'd practically growled as he pulled his arm back and shoved it toward the woman. It didn't take me a second to realize he'd just pushed a knife into her stomach. She'd let out a tiny gasp. Mr. Schue let go of her and she collapsed onto the wet pavement. I saw then that it was Mr. Schue's ex-wife Terri. Tears streaming down my face, I bolted home with the memory of my teacher killing his ex-wife forever drilled into my brain.

I tried to forget about it and focus on my class.

Halfway through Spanish, Principal Figgins called over the loudspeaker, "Freshmen, come down to the gym at this time."

Once his announcement was done, Mr. Brody went on with his lecture. He began passing out our homework assignment when Figgins' voice was heard again. "Sophomores should come to the gym now."

We all put our homework away and waited for Juniors to be called. Once they were, we stood and headed toward the gymnasium. I walked with the rest of the Glee Club, since Spanish was the only class we all shared together. That was ironic, too, because Mr. Schuester was our teacher. The eleven of us walked into the gym, listening to the band playing their upbeat music. It was pretty loud with everyone talking, even without the Seniors. We gleeks crossed the floor and went behind the bleachers, where we would go over everything one more time.

"Okay," Rachel sighed. "So Mr. Schuester probably won't be back for a while, but we've got Miss Pillsbury, and we can do this. We've all been practicing hard. Remember, this is for Finn. Everything we've done over the past few weeks was for Finn."

The rest of us nodded. Santana and Brittany went to the other side of the gym to be with the Cheerios. We waited there while the Seniors arrived and the pep rally started, applauding the band as their song ended. Figgins announced the Cheerios. They came out and began an amazingly choreographed routine. Around the middle, I looked back at Kurt, wondering why he wasn't part of this; he was a Cheerio, after all.

"Coach Sylvester told me to take this one off." He shrugged. "Don't ask me why. But I wasn't about to argue with her and risk getting kicked off completely."

"Oh, that's strange." I turned back and watched as the Cheerios rounded the end of their number. Everyone hooted and clapped and cheered as they bounded toward the bleachers opposite us. Santana and Brittany rejoined us.

After the gymnastics team did a little routine, the band played another song, and the six flag twirlers skillfully showed off a few tricks—they were actually pretty good—Miss Pillsbury stepped up to the microphone. She adjusted it so that it was perfect for her height, but, of course, that mysophobic guidance counselor had to stand a certain distance away. She cleared her throat and looked out at everyone.

"We've seen some amazing things this past hour," she evoked, "but now we'd like to direct you to a more serious matter. I'm sure most—if not all—of you know what happened to Finn Hudson. If you don't know . . . There was a fight that Finn took part of, and things really got out of hand, and he was pushed into the road, later run over by a truck. He received a broken arm, a fractured spine, and, as far as we know, is currently in a coma."

I peeked my head slightly out from behind the bleachers to see guys bowing their heads, girls attempting to subtly wipe tears out of their eyes, and some people gasping slightly, eyes widening. I stepped back and almost started tearing up myself.

Miss Pillsbury nodded. "It's a heart-breaking thing to think about. But some things in life just can't be pushed aside and forgotten." She looked down and took a deep breath.

I realized she was thinking of Mr. Schuester.

It was obvious to everyone in the school that they kind of loved each other.

"The Glee Club has been working on something over the past two weeks. They'd like to sing something now, and if you want to show sympathy for Finn, sing along." Miss Pillsbury turned and nodded toward us. We all walked out, slowly, in a group. I stood in the front row with Rachel, Puck, Kurt, and Artie. Behind us stood Mercedes, Santana, and Brittany. The last row consisted of Mike, Matt, and Tina.

Rachel nodded once. We sucked in a deep breath and began singing all together, feeling faithful.

"_Sha, la, la, la, la.  
__Sha, la, la, la, la."_

I started singing alone.

"_You used to call me your angel,  
__Said I was sent straight down from heaven.  
__You'd hold me close in your arms.  
__I loved the way you felt so strong."_

Then it was Rachel's turn. I stepped back and joined the rest of the club in holding out the long note "ooh."

"_I never wanted you to leave.  
__I wanted you to stay here holding me."_

Kurt was next, followed quickly by Mercedes.

"_I miss you.  
__I miss your smile."_

"_And I still shed a tear  
__Every once in a while."_

Puck took over willingly.

"_And even though it's different now,  
__You're still here somehow."_

Santana had her eyes closed when she sang.

"_My heart won't let you go  
__And I need you to know  
__I miss you."_

And we all sang together. I looked up to see most of the people in the bleachers beginning to stand and sing with us.

"_Sha, la, la, la, la.  
__I miss you."_

Brittany belted out her part keenly.

"_You used to call me your dreamer,  
__And now I'm living out my dream."_

Matt crooned:

"_Oh, how I wish you could see  
__Everything that's happening for me."_

Mike's turn.

"_I'm thinking back on the past.  
__It's true that time is flying by too fast."_

And we all sang together again. Almost everybody in the school was on their feet, singing along.

"_I miss you.  
__I miss your smile.  
__And I still shed a tear  
__Every once in a while.  
__And even though it's different now,  
__You're still here somehow.  
__My heart won't let you go  
__And I need you to know  
__I miss you.  
__Sha, la, la, la, la.  
__I miss you."_

I was crying as I sang next. I didn't really understand how this part fit in, since Finn wasn't dead, but we kept it anyway.

"_I know you're in a better place, yeah."_

Rachel resonated:

"_But I wish that I could see your face, oh."_

Kurt was up.

"_I know where you need to be."_

Puck stared at his feet.

"_Even though it's not here with me."_

We joined together once again, but I just had to lip-sync, because I was getting so choked up. But even Rachel, who was practically bawling, sang louder than everyone. Nobody could care less at this point, though.

"_I miss you.  
__I miss your smile.  
__And I still shed a tear  
__Every once in a while.  
__And even though it's different now,  
__You're still here somehow.  
__My heart won't let you go  
__And I need you to know  
__I miss you.  
__Sha, la, la, la, la.  
__I miss you."_


	16. Faithfully, Part Two

**Here's part two of chapter fifteen. Enjoy and PLEASE review, lovelies!**

Faithfully — Part Two

Quinn's POV

We sang the chorus once more. By the end, it was pretty silent. Nobody knew what to do. I looked to the right, toward the door of the gymnasium, where we had previously been standing. The sight I saw made my eyes widen.

"Finn?" I whispered.

Finn Hudson, his arm being held by a sling, a crutch under his other arm, grinned at me.

"Finn!" I said again, practically screaming it this time. I ran toward him, my dress whooshing around my knees, and wrapped my arms around his neck. I'd missed him terribly. I'd missed his smile, his scent, everything about him.

"Hi, Quinn," he greeted me, and the sound of his voice made my heart flutter. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too," I whispered. When I turned around, everyone else in Glee Club was literally sprinting over to us, cheering, leaping into the air, smiling, laughing, whooping, yelling Finn's name—everything that expressed happiness and more. Finn and I went toward them. Everyone in the gymnasium started applauding and cheering. People wiped their tears away, and some had tears flowing even quicker now, but out of pure joy. The _twelve_ members of New Directions engulfed in a huge group hug. Afterward, Rachel practically threw herself at Finn, almost knocking him over. Puck and Finn exchanged a fist-pound, and then a hug. Finn high-fived Artie, Matt, and Mike. He hugged Mercedes, Tina, Brittany, and Santana. Then he stepped up to the microphone, so the rest of us stood back and let him speak. You couldn't pick out a Glee Club member who stopped smiling, even for a second.

"Uh, hey, guys," Finn said into the microphone. "So yesterday at, like, five, I woke up. My back and my arm were hurting, and I had the biggest headache you could ever imagine. They reminded me of the fight and how I'd been run over, and then they told me that I had just woken up from an almost-three-week-long coma and I had a fractured spine and a broken arm. They put a cast on my arm and put it in this sling"—he held up his broken arm—"and gave me some medicine stuff and told me to rest. Surprisingly, even after sleeping for, like, three weeks, I was really tired."

Everyone laughed.

"So I slept until five o'clock this morning and then I went home with my mom," Finn continued. "And it took arguing with her for most of today, but I finally got her to let me come back to school. I showed up right as Miss P was talking and I heard everyone singing and . . ." He paused, chuckling. "This is awesome." He turned to us. "Thanks, guys."

"You're welcome!" most of us exclaimed, while the rest yelled, "No problem!" as we pulled him into another group hug. Some of the people in the bleachers went, "Aww!"

It felt so good to be with Finn again. He was so happy. Everyone was so happy. Finn had made a truly miraculous recovery. It was unbelievable, and especially ironic, since we'd just been singing about how much we missed him when he showed up.

And I—of course, after his mother and the rest of his family, I assumed—was the first to see him and hug him when he came back, which made me feel amazing.

I knew that I was in love with him again.

And though he may never forgive me for letting Puck get me pregnant, I could still hope and pray that he'd love me again, too. We definitely had gotten past the making up part; it had already been eight months since I gave birth, so that gave Finn and me time to work things out. Of course, that didn't mean he permanently forgave me for betraying and lying to him. But it did mean we could at least try to get back to the way things were, when we were just friends.

Now, though, I wanted to be more than that.

I would let all the excitement die down before I told Finn the truth.

* * *

The next day, everyone was still high-fiving Finn and patting him on the back and stopping to talk to him in the halls. And he was still in his amazing mood, giving everyone he saw a bright smile.

I, on the other hand, was feeling like absolute crap. I had an unbearable headache, along with a stomachache of immense proportions. I could barely pull myself out of bed that morning. But I knew I couldn't miss school again, even if I hadn't even missed it a lot this year. I had to put up with it. That didn't mean I had to look like I was enjoying school, though. I just kept on frowning, wishing I could be at home, despite all my friends asking if I was okay and trying to cheer me up.

"Hey!" Finn came up to me suddenly, grinning widely.

I faked a small smile, looking down.

Finn's smile faded. "You okay?"

I shrugged. "I'm not feeling too well."

"Oh. Well, why don't you go home?" Finn asked.

"I don't want to miss more school; I was out for a few days a couple weeks ago, and it was sort of hard to catch up with everything."

Finn nodded. "Go to the nurse, then."

I shrugged.

"So I was wondering if you'd wanna do something tonight. Well, you know, if you're feeling better," he said.

"Sure," I sighed. "Sounds great."

"Cool." Finn grinned his slanted, sort of dopey grin. "I'll call you later." And he turned, meeting halfway down the hall with Puck. I just stood there, right in front of my locker.

I loved Finn. So much.


	17. Alone

**I love Kurt! That is all. Enjoy.**

Alone

Kurt's POV

As I rubbed my exfoliating facial cream on my face, I heard Finn's laughter from the top of the stairs, followed by Quinn's soft giggling. They'd been at a movie, and now I guess they decided to come hang out at the house. I rolled my eyes. If they were going to ask me to leave, I wouldn't go without a fight, of course.

I heard their footsteps coming down the stairs and continued with my facial work, humming quietly. I looked at their reflections in the mirror I was sitting in front of, pretending I had just noticed them. They stood at the bottom of the stairs. Finn's smile faded, while Quinn's still lasted.

"Oh!" I spun on the stool to look at them. "Hey, Quinn."

"Hi, Kurt."

Finn stepped down to the floor. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to hang with Mercedes."

"I already did. We went shopping, but she had to go home for some sort of family thing right after," I explained, turning back to the mirror. I shrugged. "Nobody else was available to hang out with. So I decided to just stay home." I picked up a little container of a new cream I'd never used, put a dab of it on my forefinger, and began rubbing it on my cheekbones. "That's not a problem, is it? I mean, me being here?"

Finn opened his mouth to say something, but he stopped when Quinn said, "I don't care if he's here. Really, it's fine."

Finn crossed the room and sat on his bed with a large sigh. "Fine." He patted the spot next to him, and Quinn went over to sit with him.

I started humming again as they began talking about something. I really didn't want to know. What could a girl like Quinn possibly talk about with Finn?

After a few moments, Carole's voice came from the top of the basement stairs: "Finn, are you home?"

"Yeah," Finn yelled back.

"Come help me with these boxes, please!" Carole called.

"Okay." Finn looked at Quinn as he stood up. "Be right back." He ran up the staircase, climbing two stairs at a time. I put all the lids back on my skincare products. I pulled off my bandana, fixing my hair, putting it back in its neatly swept position across my forehead. I sighed, turning around. Quinn was sitting cross-legged on Finn's bed, her back against the wall. Her fingers intertwined over her torso. She seemed as if she were staring at nothing at all. Her eyes were glazed over, looking glassy.

"You okay, Quinn?" I asked.

Her head snapped up. "Um . . . yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

I got to my feet and held my hands together behind my back as I swayed forward slowly. "I know when a girl is or isn't okay, Quinn," I told her. When I finally reached the bed, I perched daintily on the edge, looking Quinn straight in the green eyes. "You are not okay. I know that for a fact. Something's wrong. And you can tell me."

"It's personal," she whispered, looking down.

"I'm your friend." I twisted so that I was facing her directly. I put one leg on the bed, sitting on my heel, as my other leg hung over the side of the bed. I reached over and held one of Quinn's hands between both of mine. "Tell me what's wrong."

Her blank eyes suddenly became teary. She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. As a quiet sob escaped her lips, I climbed up onto the bed and leaned forward to hug her. I rubbed her back in an attempt to soothe her as she wept into my shoulder. Something was seriously going on with Quinn. Something she obviously didn't want to talk about with Finn or anyone else, for that matter.

"I'm . . . I can't . . . it's . . ." Quinn was struggling to find the right words. I leaned back, my hands on her shoulders. I stared intently at her and my eyebrows rose slightly.

"What is it?" I murmured.

She started to cry again. "I'm pregnant."

My eyes widened. Quinn cried into my shoulder again. I hugged her tightly. But I was in shock. I'd heard a rumor circulating around school that Quinn was pregnant again, but I didn't believe it. It was too unbearable to even comprehend. Now that I knew it was true, though, I couldn't even grasp the concept.

"What . . . Puck?" I was too stunned to say exactly what I wanted, but Quinn understood. She shook her head.

"Finn," she whispered. "For real this time."

I blinked several times. "He doesn't know?"

"No." She looked over her shoulder. "Can he hear us? How long will it take him to get back?"

"Don't worry. My dad soundproofed our room when Finn and Carole moved in," I said. "And Carole and I ordered a heap of new furniture from a catalog last week; he won't be back down here for a little while."

Quinn nodded.

"Listen." I held both of Quinn's hands. "I know you don't believe in abortion, so that's not something you have to do. You can get through this, just like you got through it the first time. I'll be right there with you the whole time if you want me to be. You just call for me, and I'll be standing at your side in a second. Don't listen to anyone if they try to judge you; you've been through so much over the past year. Nobody can ever understand the stress and worry and pain you've had to suffer through, and only you know exactly who you are." I put my hand under her chin and lifted her head up so that she was looking at me. "You are amazing, Quinn Fabray. I can't even begin to fathom the admiration I have for you. Don't let anyone underestimate you because you are the most special human being to walk the face of the Earth. You, me, and the rest of the Glee Club are going to walk through the halls with pride and we're not going to bow down to anyone that thinks they're superior to us. You joining Glee was a gift brought unto us, even if it was only to spy in the very beginning. We've all grown so much over the past year. But you, Quinn, have matured into the greatest, most extraordinary individual ever imaginable. So we _are_ going to get through this, and we'll do it with the utmost dignity we know we possess."

Quinn gave the biggest smile she could manage, still bawling, as I pulled her in for another hug.

"Thank you so much, Kurt," she spoke softly. "I've just been feeling so alone. And you took that feeling away. You're incredible and I love you."

"As I love you," I told her, grinning. "Funny, I never thought you'd ever even think to talk to me. Now look at us: professing our sibling-like love for one another as you're telling me your best-kept secret."

Quinn chuckled. "Crazy."

"You might want to wipe those tears away before Finn comes down," I said, holding Quinn's face between my hands and wiping her tears with my thumbs. "Who knows what conclusions he'll jump to?"

"He'll go nuts." Quinn grinned, but her smile faded soon after. "Kurt . . . do you think you could . . . tell Finn for me? I'm being a coward, I know. But he'll never permanently forgive me for everything with Puck and Beth . . ."

"As much as I'm afraid of him killing me once he receives this shocking news," Kurt breathed, "I'll do it for you."

Quinn's smile returned quickly. "Thank you so much, again. You're the greatest friend a girl could ever have, seriously."

I ran my fingers through my bangs, sighing. "I know."


	18. My Life Would Suck Without You

**Yes! First chapter in Finn's POV! Woot, woot! Enjoy!**

My Life Would Suck Without You

Finn's POV

"Thanks for your help, sweetheart," Mom breathed, putting her hands on her hips.

"No problem, Mom." I took a deep breath and admired my mom and soon-to-be-stepbrother's choices in new living room couches, chairs, tables, and curtains. I felt a smirk play at the corners of my mouth. "This looks awesome."

"I agree. Now, you should probably head on back downstairs," Mom said, grinning at me. "Don't wanna keep Quinn down there with Kurt for too long. She's probably wondering what's taking you so long."

I headed down the basement stairs to the bedroom. When I got down there, my smile faded. Kurt was sitting on his bed, knees pressed against his chest. He had his headphones in his ears, listening to music on one of his many iPods. This one was dark blue and it had five glittery silver three-dimensional star stickers on the back. That meant it was his iPod completely dedicated to songs from _Wicked_, one of his favorite musicals.

"Dude, where's Quinn?" I asked, loud enough for Kurt to hear. He must've paused the song before he pulled the headphones out of his ears and looked at me, blue eyes wide and slightly gloomy.

"She left already," Kurt mumbled, "and she told me to tell you not to take it the wrong way; she just didn't feel too well and had to get home quickly." He placed the iPod and headphones on his bedside table. "Also, there's something I need to tell you."

My eyebrows came together. "What?"

Kurt stood, took a deep breath, approached me, and stared at the ground. "Well, while you were helping your mom upstairs, Quinn and I sort of had a . . . heart-to-heart conversation. Something was definitely on her mind, and when she started crying—"

"Wait, she cried?" I demanded. "What the hell went on down here?"

"Calm down. So, as I was saying, she started crying and we hugged and I finally managed to get the truth out of her," Kurt told me, his voice soft and gentle. "She asked me to tell you for her, so that's exactly what I'm doing."

"Okay, well, could you please just come out with it?" I almost yelled. "I mean, you're just making this longer than it probably needs to be and you're kinda pissing me off—"

"Quinn's pregnant again, Finn! It's _your_ baby this time, for real! Quinn didn't know how to tell you because she still thinks you're mad at her for the whole thing that happened with Puck and _their_ baby."

I fumed. "You're lying," I growled. "Don't mess with me, Kurt! Especially not about something like this!"

"I'm telling you the truth," Kurt whispered, his eyes getting teary. "I would never even think about joking about something like this. You're practically my brother and Quinn is one of my best friends. Why would I want to do that to you?"

"I swear to God!" I roared, my non-broken arm flinching toward Kurt, but I held it back. I could feel my face reddening as I became livid with rage. Then I could feel my face scrunch up, and I felt like I was about to cry. And that's exactly what I did. I bowed my head and wept, my hand gripping the elbow of my sling.

"I'm sorry," Kurt murmured. "Truly, genuinely sorry. I would never wish this on you, nor would I wish it on Quinn. Or Puck, for that matter. I mean, Quinn hurt you the first time by telling you the baby was yours. The baby _is_ yours this time, though. I'm wondering how Puck is going to take it." He stepped forward and put his hand on my shoulder. "But you need to try to comfort Quinn. She's the one who was so afraid to tell you the truth the first time around, even if lying to you was possibly the worst thing she could have done. She's the one that had to go through all the pain and name-calling for nine months. And she's the one that's going to have to go through it all over again, Finn. She is the sufferer here."

I lifted my head slowly. "I'll be going through it, too. The first time, I was scared out of my freaking mind," I muttered. "I didn't know how to take care of a kid. Then, when I found out the kid wasn't mine, I figured it would all be on Puck if I'd let Quinn out of my life forever. But now, I just . . ." I shook my head, crying again. "I can't do this, Kurt. I can't go through all the stress again, especially knowing for _certain_ that the baby is mine and I'll be the one running into the delivery room with Quinn and her mom."

Kurt sat next to me. "You'll work it out. You might want to give it up for adoption. Beth is living a happy life now because Shelby can provide for her, and Quinn and Puck both knew that keeping Beth wouldn't be the best for her."

"I know, but what if she does want to keep it? I won't have a say in it."

"Sure you will," Kurt said. "You just have to stand up for yourself." He got to his feet. "Now get some rest. Talk to Quinn at school tomorrow. Everything's going to be okay."

I grinned. "Thanks, Kurt. You really are awesome."

"I know," Kurt sighed, fixing his hair. He smirked and went to his dresser to grab his pajamas, and then went into the bathroom to change. I stripped down to my boxers and grabbed a pair of plaid pajama pants, pulling them on, followed by a black t-shirt. I climbed into bed just as Kurt had come back into the room. We bid each other goodnight and Kurt was out like a light.

I lay over my comforter, my arms behind my head. I started to remember the night Kurt had gone out to dinner with my mom and Burt, and I'd lied and told them I was sick. The truth, though, was that Quinn was coming over.

_I kissed Quinn intensely, my hands on her hips. I was lying down on my bed, Quinn on top of me. She ran her fingers through my hair. I slowly began to move my hands downward, and she didn't even try to stop me. When things started to get really hot, I pulled away hesitantly._

"_Are you sure we should do this?" I asked quietly._

"_We're just making out," Quinn panted, clutching the front of my shirt. I sighed as our lips connected again. Just as things were about to take off, I had to open my big mouth and ruin the moment. I was pretty sure Quinn definitely would never have sex again until she got married, after everything with Beth and stuff. But it was at least worth a try . . ._

_The heat of the moment got even more extreme. I kept my eyes closed as Quinn pulled away. I outstretched my lips, hoping to meet hers again. I heard her breathing deeply. When I opened my eyes, I watched as her hands began fumbling with the buttons on my shirt. She continued to undo my shirt as she pressed her lips to mine again. My eyes widened for a second; she was actually getting this started. But I kept my mouth shut, not intending to make her stop._

_Once my shirt was unbuttoned, I sat up so that Quinn could take it off of me. And then she yanked my undershirt up over my head, our lips never disconnecting. She pressed her warm hands against my bare chest, and I got my hands to the bottom of her shirt. I began pulling it up. I could feel her begin to tense, and she pushed my hands away. She pulled her lips away from mine._

_What had I done to ruin it this time? I almost groaned in annoyance, but then I noticed that Quinn had gotten me out of the way so that she could take her own shirt off, making the process speedier. She grinned deviously, and I pulled her toward me again._

"_Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked her, my lips moving to her collarbone._

"_I've had sex before," she panted. "What would be the point of becoming abstinent now?"_

_I smiled. I'd always dreamed of getting into Quinn Fabray's pants._

I was smirking by the time my memories were over. I'd gotten my wish granted, and it had so been worth it. When we were getting dressed that night, she'd commented on how great I'd been, even though I'd only done it once before. And that first time with Santana was really weird and it didn't even mean anything. With Quinn, though, I felt so lively, so amazing. I knew why they called it "making love" now.

But, of course, there had to be a consequence after having the most incredible night of my life. And that consequence was a baby.


	19. Another One Bites the Dust

**I like writing in Rachel's POV. I know; before almost every chapter I've written, I'm like, "I love writing in Puck's POV!" and "Quinn's POV is so fun!" Yeah, well, Rachel is kind of the opposite of Puck. I get to use, like, intellectual vocabulary and I don't get to swear, and I sort of have to be a little lame and old-fashioned, just like Rachel! :D**

**Enjoy this chapter!**

Another One Bites the Dust

Rachel's POV

"I think you should call him."

"Really? What should I say?"

"Just try to work things out. From what you've told me, it seems you still have feelings for him."

"Well, yeah, I do."

I was talking to my mother for about the tenth time in two weeks. She'd basically been giving me the same advice over and over again, since I, for some reason, wouldn't use it each time she gave it to me.

"Rachel," Mom sighed, "I know Jesse. He _was _being a jerk when he egged you, and he _did_ make a terrible mistake by agreeing to a fight in the first place and pushing Finn into the road. But you still have feelings for him, no matter how much you love Finn. So I would talk to him and see what he has to say, if I were you."

I smirked. "Thanks, Mom. You're right. I'll call him after school."

"Good."

"So," I breathed, "do you think I could come over and see Beth sometime? You know, since she's sort of my . . . sister." I felt it was weird calling Beth my sister. She was the daughter of Puck and Quinn; I never imagined she'd be known as my sister.

"Sure, anytime. You don't even have to call; just stop by whenever," Mom said. "Now you should probably be on your way to school."

"Yeah, you're right. See you soon, Mom."

"Bye, Rachel."

I closed my cell phone and headed off to school. When I went through the doors, I felt confident, for some reason. I always underwent the feeling of victory, somehow believing that that certain day would be the one where the Glee Club would be totally respected.

I turned and entered the choir room. I was one of the few people there, third to only Miss Pillsbury and Kurt. They were speaking softly to each other. When I stepped into the room, both of their heads turned to me. Kurt sighed and went to sit on one of the chairs. Miss Pillsbury smirked at me, turning to the piano, where a stack of papers sat. She began flipping through them.

"Good morning, Rachel," she greeted me.

"Hi, Miss Pillsbury." I sat down on the chair in front of Kurt, directly in the middle of the front row. We were soon joined by the rest of the Glee Club. When Puck entered, I expected him to be shoulder-to-shoulder with Quinn. Instead, Puck was alone, his hands in his pockets. He just came in and sat in the back row. Santana and Brittany took their usual spots near Puck. Artie and Tina sat by me, while Mercedes parked herself next to Kurt. Mike and Matt sat behind us, soon joined by Quinn and Finn.

_Quinn and Finn?_ I wanted to jump up and scream when I watched them cross the floor, holding hands. Quinn was giggling as Finn said something to her, smiling his gorgeous half-smile. I almost sighed lovingly at his beautiful way to make me fall even more in love with him unintentionally each day, but I maintained my composure, angrily gnashing my teeth.

"Well, now that everyone's here, let's get started." Miss Pillsbury clapped her hands together. "So, since Finn's back, I thought we'd start our first assignment with me as your substitute. I was looking through the assignments Mr. Schuester was apparently planning on doing with you guys, but never actually got the chance to do, and I found one interesting." She reached behind her and picked up a piece of paper. "You're going to find a song and dedicate it to one of your fellow Glee Club members. But the catch is that you can't tell anyone who you're dedicating it to. The point of this assignment is to find a song and sing it so powerfully that the person just knows that it's directed toward them. Does everyone understand?"

I nodded dynamically. I was so going to sing to Finn. I just needed the perfect song to show him that the two of us belonged together, because I could accept him for who he is and never try to change him, unlike what Quinn was probably planning on doing. Maybe Finn was afraid of her, worried about what she might do if he broke up with her. But he shouldn't be with her; she broke his heart. I mean, if I were a guy, and my girlfriend cheated on me and got pregnant by my best friend—let alone _lie_ to me about it for months and have to have the girl I should've loved all along tell me the truth—I'd never turn back.

Well, after Finn heard the song I was going to sing to him, he would definitely change his mind about love and come crawling over to me. Of course, I'd take him willingly into my arms and let Quinn be the one crying over how lost she'd feel without him. I'd be arm-in-arm with Finn, taking long strides down the hall, telling Quinn to eat my dust, since I'd never curse.

"Okay," Miss Pillsbury sighed. "So you'll work on those. But, for now, I found a song in Mr. Schuester's office that I thought you'd all like to sing, since I guess it's pretty popular right now." She passed the pile of papers to me. I took the top piece of sheet music and passed the stack on to Tina. I stared at the title, my eyes widening. A smile formed on my lips. I could totally picture us singing this song, and doing well with it. "Hey, Soul Sister" was definitely a favorite of mine.

"I _love_ this song!" I exclaimed, getting to my feet. "Let's get started!"

The rest of the club was excited, too. Puck stood and volunteered to play the guitar, which was a major part of the song. Miss Pillsbury agreed to let him. He'd had to buy a new acoustic guitar, since Jesse and the rest of Vocal Adrenaline had burned his. He went over to the corner of the room, grabbed the guitar, sat on a stool, and positioned it on his lap. I nodded for him to start. He strummed the first few chords of the song, and all of us sang together to start it off.

"_He-ey, he-e-e-e-ey, he-e-e-e-ey!"_

I happily took over the first verse.

"_Your lipstick stains  
__On the front lobe of my left-side brains.  
__I knew I wouldn't forget you,  
__And so I went and let you  
__Blow my mind."_

I motioned for Finn to take over, and he did.

"_Your sweet moonbeam.  
__The smell of you in every single dream I dream.  
__I knew when we collided,  
__You're the one I have decided  
__Who's one of my kind."_

Matt, Mike, Tina, Artie, and Mercedes joined Puck and me in the middle of the room while everyone joined in for the chorus.

"_Hey, Soul Sister.  
__Ain't that Mr. Mister on the radio, stereo.  
__The way you move ain't fair, you know.  
__Hey, Soul Sister.  
__I don't wanna miss a single thing you do  
__Tonight.  
__He-ey, he-e-e-e-ey, he-e-e-e-ey!"_

Artie belted out the next verse proudly.

"_Just in time.  
__I'm so glad you have a one-track mind like me.  
__You gave my life direction.  
__A game show love connection."_

We couldn't resist all singing the next part.

"_We can't deny-y-y-y-y-y!"_

And it was back to Artie, but with Tina this time.

"_I'm so obsessed.  
__My heart is bound to beat right out my untrimmed chest.  
__I believe in you."_

And, again, we all had to sing the next line, some of us laughing as we sang it.

"_Like a virgin, you're Madonna!"_

Tina went alone this time.

"_And I'm always gonna wanna blow your mind!"_

All of us together again:

"_Hey, Soul Sister.  
__Ain't that Mr. Mister on the radio, stereo.  
__The way you move ain't fair, you know.  
__Hey, Soul Sister.  
__I don't wanna miss a single thing you do  
__Tonight."_

Puck continued strumming the guitar as he sang his part, getting Finn, Quinn, Kurt, Santana, and Brittany to join our group in the middle of the floor.

"_Way you can cut a rug.  
__Watching you is the only drug I need.  
__So gangster, I'm so thug!  
__You're the only one I'm dreaming of, you see."_

Now it was Mercedes' turn.

"_I can be myself now, finally.  
__In fact, there's nothing I can't be.  
__I want the world to see you be  
__With me."_

We were all dancing now, having the time of our lives. Even Miss Pillsbury was rocking out by the piano behind us, clapping and bobbing her head along with the beat, grinning widely at us.

"_Hey, Soul Sister.  
__Ain't that Mr. Mister on the radio, stereo.  
__The way you move ain't fair, you know.  
__Hey, Soul Sister.  
__I don't wanna miss a single thing you do  
__Tonigh-igh-ight.  
__Hey, Soul Sister.  
__I don't wanna miss a single thing you do  
__Tonight.  
__He-ey, he-e-e-e-ey, he-e-e-e-ey!  
__Tonight.  
__He-ey, he-e-e-e-ey, he-e-e-e-ey!  
__Tonight!"_

We all exchanged high-fives, congratulating each other. That definitely sounded awesome, like I knew it would. Miss Pillsbury praised us, and we all sat down. That was absolutely the most fun we'd had performing all together in weeks.


	20. The Boy Is Mine

The Boy Is Mine

Rachel's POV

Around the middle of the day, I strutted out of my classroom, humming. Down the hall, I saw Finn and Quinn walking in my direction. I stopped walking, my eyes narrowing. Finn's large hand held Quinn's, but then Finn let go and he kissed Quinn briefly before turning and going to his locker. Quinn had a pensive expression as he trudged forward.

I wasn't mad at Quinn for dating Finn. Of course, I was upset because I wanted Finn for myself. From my own experiences, I knew that the heart wants what the heart wants. I couldn't blame Quinn. And I didn't want to be mean to her, since she was pregnant, and probably very sensitive.

I approached her with a warm smile. "Hi, Quinn."

She stared at me, confused. "Um . . . hi."

"So, we're sort of friends now, right?" I asked.

"Uh . . . I guess," she said hesitantly.

"Well, good." I began walking with her. "I just want to tell you that I know that you're pregnant, and I promise I won't tell anybody. And I'll be there to support you, if you ever need me."

Quinn stopped walking. "Who told you?" Her voice was quiet.

"Mercedes," I whispered. "But please don't blame her. As you know, I have this compulsive need to know every little secret circulating the school as part of my neurotic want to be popular. Mercedes was acting odd when I was talking to her, and I refused to stop speaking with her until she told me whatever was on her mind. She only told me to get me off her back."

"I can understand that," Quinn muttered. "Did she tell you anything else?"

"No. But I'm curious as to who the father is. I really feel bad that Puck would get you pregnant again—"

Quinn started forward again. "It's not Puck."

"Then it's Finn?" I uttered wretchedly.

Quinn spun on her heel to face me. "Yes, Finn's the father. I know you're in love with him or whatever, so I'm sorry that we had sex. I'm sorry that I'm a slut. I'm sorry that I'm a Christian and took a vow for abstinence till marriage, but ended up getting pregnant twice before the age of eighteen."

"Quinn, I wasn't—"

"Save it, Rachel," Quinn grumbled, tears forming in her eyes. "If you want Finn, go for it. Let him dump me for you. I'll just have to result to my only other option, the only guy who'd ever date me ever again, but who probably won't anymore when he learns that I'm pregnant again and there's a different father. But, for now, Finn is mine, and I'd like to keep it that way. It's not my call, though, since you've been in love with him since the moment you laid eyes on him." The tears were flowing down her face now. "So go ahead and try to win him over."

Suddenly, I leaned forward and hugged her. At first she tried to step back, but then she willingly hugged me back, sobbing quietly.

"I don't want you to feel like you're a slut, Quinn, because you're not," I murmured. "And you're right: I _do _love Finn. But now that I know he's the father of your baby, I'm going to leave it up to him." I leaned back and held onto her forearms. "He'll get to choose who he loves and, frankly, if he loves anyone but you, I'll be pretty disappointed in him."

Quinn laughed a little. "Thanks, Rachel. You know, aside from your horrible personality, you can be a huge help."

"No problem." I grinned.

"Hey, Quinn, are you okay?"

Out of the blue, Finn was standing there, his gaze alternating from Quinn, to me, and back to Quinn again.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Quinn wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She looked at me. "Thanks."

"My pleasure." I turned and kept going through the halls, smiling hugely.

Puck's POV

I charged through the corridor, my hands clenched into fists. I tilted my head downward. My breathing was rough. I pushed away every kid that stood in my way, and I didn't care what people were saying, especially if it was directed toward me.

I hated Finn. I fucking hated him. I was going to kill him.

How _dare _he fucking impregnate _my_ girlfriend? The mother of _my_ fucking child?

Now Quinn was going to be the mother of my child _and _Finn's child. The thought of it made me cringe. It just sounded weird. Finn and I used to be best friends. We'd made up and whatever and became best friends after he woke up, even though he was still kinda pissed about me getting Quinn pregnant. And he understood the fact that Quinn was with me now.

But when I heard Mercedes and Kurt saying that he'd taken her on a date last night, I got interested and had been hiding around the corner, listening to them. Kurt had told Mercedes the whole story about how Quinn had confessed to Kurt that she was pregnant again, but with Finn's child this time. I can't even describe the anger I felt.

Then it turned to pain. Finn and I had made up. How could he do something like that to me? He took my girlfriend on a date, making her fall in love with him, and got her pregnant even before that. I _knew_ there had been something going on between the two of them when they came to Glee rehearsal that day. And they had to have done it been before Finn had fallen into a coma, because Quinn would have needed at least a good two weeks to get the results. I'd never really felt true pain, aside from the day I had to give Beth up, but I tried not to think about that as best I could.

But all the memories were brought back to me when I felt that pain again, the complete aching in my heart. It was the feeling of losing someone I loved. And it fucking hurt. Bad.

Now I was going to kill Finn. I was going to slash his head off and rip his fucking heart out, leaving a carcass for Rachel to weep over for the rest of her life. And I'd probably be put in jail, just as bad as Mr. Schue. I had to hand it to Mr. Schue, though, for really showing he could be a badass. But that wasn't my point.

Finally, I spotted him. He was at the end of the hall, his arm around Quinn's shoulders. They were walking in what seemed like slow motion. I took a deep breath before treading heavily along the linoleum floor. I grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled it as hard as I could. He stumbled backward and Quinn pivoted with a gasp, along with a lot of other people in the hall. Dopey Finn stared at me with wide eyes.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I screamed, shoving him as hard as I possibly could.

"What are you talking about, Puck?" he asked, dusting himself off as if I'd done nothing at all.

"You know what I'm talking about," I growled. "You _know_ what you fucking did! To me! To _Quinn_!"

Quinn's eyes widened.

Finn stepped toward me. "Dude, just calm down. I don't know what you're talking—"

"Don't try to pull that shit with me, you doe-eyed little jackass!" I yelled. "You know _exactly _what I'm fucking talking about! And so does she"—I pointed to Quinn—"and so does almost half of the fucking Glee Club!"

"Who told you?" Finn asked quietly.

"Who the hell cares who told me? The only thing that matters right now is me beating your ass for insperminating my girl! The mother of my _daughter_!"

"Shut up!" Finn screeched, kicking me where the sun don't shine. I doubled over for a moment, but I recovered quickly and lunged at him. Soon, I was sitting on him, releasing my fury all over his face. Quinn was bawling. Everyone in the hall was watching.

But I didn't care.

Bitchface Finn definitely deserved this.

Quinn was mine.


	21. Finn's Turn

**This chapter is named after the song "Rose's Turn," which Kurt sang in the episode "Laryngitis," but I thought I would make the chapter name "Finn's Turn," since it's in Finn's POV and his name isn't Rose. :D Enjoy!**

Finn's Turn

Finn's POV

I'd gone home with a black eye after Puck had beaten me up. I'd had to make up some dumb excuse about me tripping down the stairs when my mom asked what had happened. I'd left out the part about my broken arm aching terribly. My mom would have had me in the car on the way to the hospital in a second.

The next day, absolutely every one of us in Glee had our songs ready to perform. I was so excited to do mine, but I was also pumped to see everyone else's. We'd decided as a group that, after each number, we'd all have to give our guess as to who the song was dedicated to, and the person who sang it would give us the real answer.

I entered the choir room with a smile on my face. I plopped down next to Quinn. She smiled at me, and I grinned right back at her. Then I turned and glared at Puck. When he looked at me, I quickly turned away.

Miss Pillsbury came into the room then. "Good morning, everyone."

"Morning, Miss P."

"All right. So does anyone have their songs ready to perform?" she asked.

Everybody raised their hands.

Miss Pillsbury smiled. "That's great! Who wants to go first?"

Before anyone could even get their hand halfway into the air or speak a word, two people were practically racing each other to the front of the room. Rachel, with her wide grin plastered on her face, stood from her chair in the front row and was striding forward. But once she _did_ get to the middle of the floor, she frowned, folded her arms across her chest, and went back to her seat. She was beat to be first by Matt. He was half-smiling, hands in his pockets.

"Okay, Matt. Start whenever you're ready."

Matt nodded. He turned and pointed to Brad, who willingly started letting his fingers glide along the piano keys. We all knew the tune right away, and when the rest of the band started playing, we clapped our hands to the beat. I had to admit, "I Just Haven't Met You Yet" wasn't a bad song.

Matt started dancing around the middle, and we cheered him on. He quickly finished up the first verse and went on to the chorus. As he sang the rest of the song and it started to come to a conclusion, everybody tried to think of who the song could be directed toward.

Matt grinned, ending the song. We all stood up and applauded him. Then we looked around at each other, struggling to figure out who Matt had directed the song toward. I was looking for someone I'd never seen Matt actually talk to, and the only person I could come up with was Mercedes.

"I say it's Mercedes," I said, my hand going into the air. Everyone looked at me. I shrugged.

"I'm with Finn on this one." Mike nodded my way.

Rachel folded her arms across her chest. "No. I think he was singing about Tina."

Artie gave Rachel a look of complete terror.

Kurt smirked. "No, Finn and Mike are right. It's definitely Mercedes."

"Yeah, you know it." I exchanged a high-five with Kurt, followed by Mike.

Rachel seemed to be the only one who thought Matt was singing about Tina. Brittany thought the song was dedicated to Santana, though, and nobody could understand why, since Matt and Santana used to be pretty tight. Everyone else agreed with me.

"The majority says the song was dedicated to Mercedes." Miss Pillsbury looked at Matt. "Is that right?"

Matt grinned, nodding. Quinn, Tina, Rachel, Santana, and Brittany practically leapt from their seats and were next to Mercedes in a second, all crooning, "Aww!" Matt went back to his seat, high-fiving Mike and Puck on the way.

"Next up is Rachel, I guess," Miss Pillsbury announced, Rachel standing right next to her.

"Hit it!" Rachel exclaimed, pointing to the band.

The song she sang was Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me." When she finished, she was beaming, asking who everyone thought the song was about.

"Finn," Mike sighed.

"Yup," Mercedes and Kurt said in unison.

"Mm-hmm," Artie hummed.

Nobody else even answered. It was obvious that everyone knew the answer. Rachel nodded in satisfaction, going to her seat, winking at me on the way. Quinn briefly scowled at her, and then she looked at me. I turned away awkwardly.

"Who's next?"

Artie was up. He sang "OMG" by Usher for Tina. Then came Santana, who sang Rhianna's "Rude Boy," obviously dedicated to Puck. Brittany performed "Alejandro" by Lady Gaga, but she didn't realize the night before that she was supposed to sing about someone in Glee Club. Mike sang Mike Posner's "Cooler Than Me" for Santana. Quinn performed "Your Love Is My Drug" by Kesha, and it was directed toward me, which made me feel pretty awesome. Tina sang "Live Like We're Dying" by Kris Allen for Artie. When it was Kurt's turn, he performed for Mercedes, singing "I Want To Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles. Mercedes sang Miley Cyrus' "True Friend" for Kurt. Then Puck was up, and he performed "Hey, Soul Sister," dedicated to Quinn.

I knew he only did it to piss me off.

I fought back the urge to punch his face in.

"Okay, well, Finn's the only one left," Miss Pillsbury announced, gesturing toward me. "You're up."

"Sweet." I went to the middle of the room and whispered in the guitar player's ear what I was going to sing. He told the rest of the band while I told Brad. When they started playing, I bobbed my head to the beat. I'd been preparing for this all night. Now this was my turn, and I was so going to own it.

"_You're better than the best.  
__I'm lucky just to linger in your light.  
__You're cooler than the flipside of my pillow.  
__That's right.  
__Completely unaware.  
__Nothing can compare to where you send me.  
__Lets me know that it's okay.  
__Yeah, it's okay.  
__And the moments when my good times start to fade."_

Quinn watched me lovingly, blinking slowly. Rachel smiled and clapped her hands to the beat. Puck rolled his eyes each time I even sang a line. Kurt watched me with wide, interested eyes. Artie, Mercedes, Tina, Santana, and Brittany swayed with the music. Matt and Mike bobbed their heads.

"_You make me smile like the sun,  
__Fall out of bed,  
__Sing like a bird,  
__Dizzy in my head,  
__Spin like a record,  
__Crazy on a Sunday night.  
__You make me dance like a fool,  
__Forget how to breathe,  
__Shine like gold,  
__Buzz like a bee.  
__Just the thought of you can drive me wild.  
__Oh, you make me smile."_

I began my horrible dancing.

"_Even when you're gone,  
__Somehow you come along  
__Just like a flower poking through the sidewalk crack.  
__And just like that, you steal away the rain.  
__And just like that."_

While Mike and Matt laughed about my insanely horrible dance steps, I sang the second chorus, and everyone else seemed to be laughing at me, too. Even though they were making fun of me, it was just friendly, since even I knew I was terrible at dancing. Puck still just rolled his eyes, shaking his head. I just went on with the song, though, bad dancing and all.

"_Don't know how I lived without you  
_'_Cause every time that I get around you  
__I see the best of me inside your eyes."_

I held my arms out to the sides at a slight forty-five degree angle.

"_You make me smile!"_

Everyone laughed.

"_You make me dance like a fool,  
__Forget how to breathe,  
__Shine like gold,  
__Buzz like a bee.  
__Just the thought of you can drive me wild."_

I paused just slightly, to add a tiny bit of affect. The break was slightly longer than Uncle Kracker's was in the original version of the song. But as soon as I started singing again, I broke out excitedly.

"_You make me smile like the sun,  
__Fall out of bed,  
__Sing like a bird,  
__Dizzy in my head,  
__Spin like a record,  
__Crazy on a Sunday night.  
__You make me dance like a fool,  
__Forget how to breathe,  
__Shine like gold,  
__Buzz like a bee.  
__Just the thought of you can drive me wild.  
__Oh, you make me smile."_

The girls of the club helped me out by singing:

"_Ooh, you make me smile!"_

I grinned.

"_Oh, you make me smile."_

Everyone sang this time.

"_Ooh, you make me smile!"_

I felt the need to run over and pull Quinn into my arms.

"_Oh, you make me smile."_

"That was about Quinn, no doubt," Tina said, and everybody nodded in agreement, though Rachel and Puck were the only ones who weren't smiling when they did. I went back to my chair and smirked at Quinn across the room.

"Those were all great!" Miss Pillsbury laughed. "You performed _and_ guessed amazingly, all of you."


	22. Bust a Move

**I've been planning this chapter for quite some time. :) All I'm going to say is, as always, enjoy!**

Bust a Move

Six Months Later

Quinn's POV

"Hey, Quinn!"

I turned to see who was calling me. It was that goddamn idiot Karofsky. It wasn't a surprise that that moron Azimio was walking with him. I rolled my eyes and turned around, opening my locker. As I started to gather my books for my next class, the two Neanderthals were standing right next to me, smirking. I started walking away.

"Whoa, whoa, wait up!" Karofsky called after me.

"Go away," I grumbled.

"Heard you've been fightin' with Finn a lot lately," Azimio ragged as the two of them caught up with me. "You afraid he's gonna kick you to the curb?"

I ignored them. I was walking swiftly away, angry as hell. I hated these two. But Azimio was right; for months now, Finn and I had been getting into fights about nothing. I wanted to keep the baby this time, but Finn told me that it wouldn't seem fair because I'd already given up my first child. So it started a huge fight. Then we got in a fight over names for our son. Finn wanted to name the baby Jack Daniel Hudson. I didn't even realize if he meant for it to sound like Jack Daniels, but it reminded me too much of Puck, who originally wanted Beth's name to be Jackie Daniels. So I basically started screaming at Finn out of anger as I thought of Puck.

Things like that seemed to threaten our relationship and lower the likelihood of keeping the baby and raising him together. It had been happening so often, though, that I was trying to learn how to make things better. Finn just seemed to be depressed all the time. He would walk through the school, his head bowed, hands in the pockets of his hoody. He would only pretend to pipe up when I was around.

"You know, if Finn dumps you, I'll always be here," Karofsky said. "I'll be the dad. You seem to like switching between baby daddies, so why not?"

I fumed, breathing heavily through my nose. "You're both losers. Leave me alone."

"We may be losers," Azimio laughed, "but you're a _slut_."

"A _whore_," Karofsky added.

Azimio grabbed my arm, preventing me from walking any further. "I know someone who had two kids before she turned eighteen. Now she lives alone with them, she's single, and she works as a prostitute. Oh, and her kids have two different fathers, too. What do you know? Must be your future!"

I felt the tears welling in my eyes. "Screw you. Both of you."

"Oh, look! We made her cry!" Karofsky's lip jutted out mockingly while Azimio laughed. "Maybe we were a little too mean to Tubbers."

Azimio shook his head. "No. Those are fake tears. Slutty whores don't have feelings."

"Leave me the hell alone!" I hissed through clenched teeth, tears falling now. I pushed past them and started walking again, but, once again, Azimio stopped me.

Karofsky sighed. "You really are a bitch. What does Finn see in you? Why did Puck ever want to hook up with you, especially while you were dating pussy-ass Finn?"

I squeezed my eyes shut and began sobbing. It was only then that I heard Puck's bellowing voice from the end of the hall, screaming the names of both Karofsky and Azimio. I kept my eyes closed until I was certain Puck was standing right there. My eyelids fluttered open, and Puck stood tall, shoulders forward. He tilted his head down, glaring at Karofsky and Azimio through his lashes. His jaw clenched when they stepped toward him.

"Pucky to the rescue," Azimio said in a high-pitched voice.

"Leave her the hell alone," Puck growled.

Karofsky held his arms out to either side. "Go ahead, bitchface. Bust a move."

Puck, very subtly, gave me a slight nod. That was my cue to go. At first I didn't know what I would do, but then I made up my mind. I held my books close and darted down the hall. I couldn't find Finn at first, but then I saw him by Rachel's locker. The two of them were laughing about something. Frankly, I couldn't care less that he was talking to her at this point. When I reached them, I was panting. Finn gave me a concerned look. Rachel's eyes widened.

"Finn," I breathed. "Help . . . Puck. He's . . . he's gonna . . ."

Finn put his hands on my shoulders. "Quinn, breathe. Just breathe."

I sucked in a huge breath. "You need to help Puck," I panted. "He's about to get beaten up by Karofsky and Azimio."

"What did he do? And why should I help him?"

I started crying again. "The two of them were harassing me, and Puck only came over to stop them. And now I'm pretty sure they're gonna beat him up. You need to help him!"

Finn wrapped his arms around me and held me close. "I'm going to rip their heads off," he snarled. "Nobody harasses my girlfriend, especially those two assholes." Finn kissed my head quickly before running off to find Puck, Karofsky, and Azimio.

I turned to Rachel. "Sorry for ruining that . . . moment, or whatever was happening between you two," I mumbled half-heartedly, bringing my hand to my eyes and started to wipe my tears away.

"It was nothing. He loves you, Quinn, and nothing's going to change that." Rachel handed me a tissue. "What were Karofsky and Azimio saying to you?"

I shrugged. As I dabbed my eyes with the tissue, I told her, "They were just calling me a slut and a whore and saying I'd grow up to be a single mother who works as a prostitute. And Karofsky kept pestering me about how Beth and this baby have different dads." I placed my hand on my growing baby bump.

Rachel shook her head. "They're just jerks. Don't let those lowlifes get to you."

"I know enough not to," I muttered.

"Well, I'm going to change the subject now." Rachel grinned. "How's the baby? Are you keeping him?"

"He's great. The doctor said that I'm taking good care of him, just as I did with Beth," I explained. "We don't know what we're going to do anymore, honestly. We're pretty sure we're keeping him, but I'm starting to believe what Finn said a little while ago about it not being fair, since Puck and I gave Beth up."

"But Finn isn't Puck," Rachel reminded me. "He's a different guy. A different dad."

"Yeah, but when Finn thought it was his baby the first time around, I was sure I didn't want to keep it as long as I was with him. He just didn't seem like he could be a dad. I'm not even sure if he is now. I was willing to think that Puck could be a good dad, on the other hand. I'm positive that he _will_ be an amazing dad when he's ready." I shook my head. "But I'm not dealing with Puck now. I'm dealing with Finn. Seventeen-year-old, innocent, immature, barely-knows-who-he-is Finn."

"Seems like you have all the reasoning you need," Rachel murmured. "Now it's your job to make the decision."

And she breezed past me, her words hanging in the air.


	23. All By Myself

**My first chapter in Emma's POV! Sorry it's short! Enjoy!**

All By Myself

Emma's POV

I sat in my office, staring out into the parking lot. My eyes focused on the parking spot where Will used to park his car every day. That spot was now occupied by a big black BMW, a student's car, and not Will's old, blue, beat-up car.

I was in love with Will. I really was. I had been since I'd first met him. After everything we'd been through, I always found it in my heart to forgive him for his faults. I could never imagine what it would be like if I couldn't see him every day, if I couldn't inhale his scent as he sat across from me in my office. His lips always felt so soft when he kissed me. I never knew that those three little words could sound so big coming from his mouth, because I knew he truly meant it when he told me he loved me.

But all of that went away when I learned he was a murderer. A cold-hearted killer. I strongly believe that people and things can change, but I never envisaged Will Schuester killing somebody, becoming a criminal and getting himself locked up. He'd been bailed out of jail months ago and was in the Lima Psychological Institution. When I thought about why Shelby Corcoran would bail Will out of jail, I got stumped.

I sighed, looking down. But my head snapped up when I heard someone knocking lightly on the glass door of my office. Quinn Fabray stood there, her hands intertwined over her distended torso. I was reminded then of that sweet, smart Christian girl who was currently seventeen years old and pregnant with her second child, and both children had a different father. Ironically, though, this second father was led to believe that he was the father of the first for quite some time.

The guidance counselor knew all the gossip.

I got to my feet. "Come on in."

Quinn pushed the door open and stepped in, closing the door behind her. She stared at the floor, but then looked up at me sheepishly. I motioned toward the chair directly across from mine, the one that Will never sat in. As Quinn lowered herself into the chair, I sat down in mine.

"Hi, Quinn," I sighed. "What do you want to talk about?"

Quinn cleared her throat. "Um, I'm just sort of . . . confused . . . about what to do after my baby is born."

"You mean . . . you're confused about your options?" I asked. "Like keeping it, or putting it up for adoption . . ."

She nodded. "Yeah, kind of."

"Well, I'm here to help."

"I think I want to keep my baby," Quinn murmured, "but I don't think I want to keep him with Finn."

"And Finn is the father?" I clarified.

"Yes."

"Why don't you want to keep the baby with him? Is it that you don't want him around the baby?" I questioned.

Quinn shook her head. "No, it's not that. I just don't know if he's mature enough. He's a seventeen-year-old boy, for God's sake. He's still so worried about his reputation, even after everything he's been through. He promised he won't leave me, sure, but you never know. We could end up getting into a huge fight and I'll be a single mother. Finn still gets into stupid fist fights with other guys, too. And he keeps trying to make up stupid excuses for me _not_ to keep the baby."

"Like what?"

"Like how it wouldn't be fair to keep him, since I already put Beth up for adoption," Quinn explained. "I started to think that was true, but I wasn't ready to raise a baby then. Even though it hasn't been that long, I'm sure I can do it this time around."

I nodded, pumping a gobbet of hand sanitizer into the palm of my hand. I rubbed both hands together as I said, "Well, I think that's something you need to talk to Finn about. If you truly feel he's not ready to be a father, you should try to talk to him and get it from his point of view. Is he going to flat-out tell you that he's not ready? If he doesn't tell you and you're absolutely sure he won't be able to pull it off, bring it up to him yourself and see if he'll admit to it."

Quinn's fingers intertwined. She stared down at them, her thumbs circling each other. "Yeah, I guess." She lifted her head to look at me and locked her hands on the armrests of the chair, pushing herself up. "Thanks, Miss Pillsbury. You're a really good guidance counselor."

I grinned. "Thank you. It's a job I love doing."

Quinn smiled slightly. She shuffled out of the room, giving me a small smirk before she went down the hall. I got to my feet and stood in front of the window again, looking out into the parking lot. But I didn't stare at the spot Will's car should have been parked. No, my eyes were locked on something else. A flower. A small pink flower poking through the grass that circled the lot. The stem looked strong; it would only be broken if someone stepped on it or purposely snapped it. Next to the pink flower was a yellow one that would have been taller, had it not been wilting. The petals drooped, browning on the tips. The stem was thin and weak. I wondered why two flowers, so close together, could be so different. One was growing healthily, set strong and tall. The other was meeting its maker now, about to wither into nothing.

I started to cry.

I thought about Will and me. Will had always been that pink flower, standing tall, ready to pick me up when I sank down like the yellow blossom. But now it was just the opposite. I was using up my best efforts just to stay strong. Will had made one bad move, and now all of his courage and strength was on the sheer verge of withering away.

I was all by myself.

I made sure no one was lingering in the halls before I fell to my knees and broke down crying.

I was in love with William Schuester, and I needed him to be himself again.


	24. Where Is Love?

**Yay! Another Puck's POV! Enjoy and review!**

Where Is Love?

Puck's POV

I never thought I'd experience this feeling. I never thought I could look at someone and know they were the one that made me feel special, extraordinary. Hell, I never knew I was _capable_ of this sentiment.

I was a player. My so-called "love life" consisted of regular hookups with different girls, all of them wanting something that I couldn't give them.

Love.

What did love feel like? I had no fucking clue. Not until I met her. Kissed her for the first time. Coaxed her into hooking up with me. Took her virginity. Betrayed my friendship with her boyfriend, all for her. Got her pregnant. Watched her through it all. Lived with her. Witnessed the birth of our daughter. Dated her. Got dumped by her so she could go back to my ex-best friend.

Quinn Fabray put me through all of this, and I loved her through it all. The problem was that I didn't realize it until she wasn't mine anymore, until she got pregnant again, but by someone else. By the boy that she wasn't supposed to love again. Finn used to be my best friend, that is, until he realized he wasn't the father of Quinn's first child. That pissed him off, since they were still dating. The ruined relationships were all thanks to me. When Finn and I sort of made up and were friends again, he went behind my back and stole Quinn from me, impregnating her again.

I told Quinn I loved her right after seeing her give birth to my daughter. But, still, it wasn't the same. I loved her now more than ever.

Now I knew what love felt like, and I knew that I'd been experiencing it for more than a year. The butterflies in my stomach when I saw her. The stupid grin I hid when she laughed. The longing to pull her into my arms when I watched her walk down the hall with Finn.

The urge to cry when I came to the realization that she didn't feel the same way anymore.

I never truly knew if she loved me, but I knew what love was now, and she loved me all along. I should have taken the chance while I had it.

* * *

"Miss P," I murmured.

The guidance counselor and Glee substitute looked up at me and smiled. "Hi, Noah. What is it?"

"I wanna sing something," I told her, "because there's something I wanna say to someone but I can't find any other way."

Miss Pillsbury nodded. "All right." She turned to the rest of the club. "Everyone, we'll start today's rehearsal with a song from Noah."

For a split second, it was quiet, but some of my peers started clapping and others whispered amongst themselves as I stepped forward. Then it was quiet again. The slow music started, softly ringing out into the room. My eyes met Quinn's briefly, but I looked away upon realizing she was leaning on Finn's shoulder.

"_I can hear the truck tires coming up  
__The gravel road  
__And it's not like her to drive that slow.  
__Nothing's on the radio.  
__Footsteps on the front porch,  
__I hear my doorbell.  
__She usually comes right in.  
__Now I can tell."_

I swallowed hard, lifting my eyes to stare at her.

"_Here comes goodbye.  
__Here comes the last time.  
__Here comes the start of every sleepless night,  
__The first of every tear I'm gonna cry.  
__Here comes the pain.  
__Here comes me wishing things had never changed  
__And she was right here in my arms tonight.  
__But here comes goodbye."_

Unwillingly, I tore my eyes away from her face, which had quickly taken on a gloomy expression. Finn furrowed his brow, his lips pursed. He stared at the ground. I could tell that he knew I was singing to Quinn. Rachel half-smiled, nodding slightly in approval. Mercedes, Kurt, and Tina smiled, all looking as if they were about to cry. Brittany seemed slightly confused, as always, but I could tell that she did understand what I was getting at with the song. Santana, Mike, and Matt smiled casually, yet sympathetically.

"_I can hear her say 'I love you'  
__Like it was yesterday.  
__And I can see it written on her face  
__That she had never felt this way.  
__One day I thought I'd see her  
__With her daddy by her side.  
__And violins would play.  
__Here comes the bride."_

I could feel myself getting choked up. Time and time again, I'd envisioned Quinn in a white dress, coming down to meet me at the end of the aisle. Before Beth was born and we gave her up, I pictured her as the flower girl, standing right there as she watched her parents marry at last.

_"But here comes goodbye.  
Here comes the last time.  
Here comes the start of every sleepless night,  
The first of every tear I'm gonna cry.  
Here comes the pain.  
Here comes me wishing things had never changed  
And she was right here in my arms tonight.  
But here comes goodbye."_

The tears were coming. I felt them. But I wasn't about to cry like a sissy in front of everyone.

"_Why's it have to go  
__From good to gone?  
__Before the lights turn on,  
__Yeah, and you're left alone.  
__Ooh, but here comes  
__Goodbye!  
__Ooh."_

I blinked hard, not intending to let the tears spill out of my eyes anytime soon.

"_Here comes goodbye.  
__Here comes the last time.  
__Here comes the start of every sleepless night,  
__The first of every tear I'm gonna cry.  
__Here comes the pain.  
__Here comes me wishing things had never changed  
__And she was right here in my arms tonight.  
__But here comes goodbye.  
Ooh.__"_

I stared at my shoes, swallowing the lump in my throat. From the corner of my eye, I watched as all of the girls and Kurt wiped their tears away with the back of their hands. Finn was staring straight at me. Everyone began applauding, and Quinn's green eyes met mine momentarily before I turned on my heel and trudged toward the door. As I closed it behind me and darted down the hall, I wanted to fucking kill myself for crying in the middle of the school.

I ran outside, to the parking lot. I got in my truck and began speeding off, trying to find somewhere to go. Eventually, I ended up at the LPI. Maybe I could see Mr. Schue or something. He could help me out.

And I _was_ allowed to see him. He had half-hour-long visitation rights, so I could only see him for that amount of time. I was led to him by a young guy. And then I was left standing in front of a large window of bulletproof glass, staring at the back of my teacher. He was sitting on a chair, his face in his hands.

"Mr. Schue?"

His head whipped around. His eyes were locked on me for a moment, and before I knew it, he was standing right there on the other side of the glass, staring at me with wide eyes and a smile.

"Puck," he breathed. "What are you doing here?"

"I kinda need some advice," I said.

Mr. Schuester's smile faded. "Have you been crying?"

"Yeah, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anybody."

"I really don't have anyone to tell," he chuckled.

"People don't visit you here?" I asked.

Mr. Schue shrugged. "Shelby stops by once in a while, but that's really it. It's great seeing one of my students, though. How've you been?"

"Awful," I replied honestly. "Quinn went back to Finn 'cause she's having his baby now."

"Really? That's terrible!" Mr. Schue shook his head. "I'm sorry for you, too. That must suck."

I nodded. "And I think they're keeping it. It's so unfair! I mean, I barely had a choice with Quinn; she didn't want to keep Beth, and I went along with it. But now she's gonna keep the baby she's having with Finn, and I know for a _fact_ that I could father a kid a hell of a lot better than dumbass Finn ever could."

"Hey, now." Mr. Schue raised an eyebrow at me. "Let's not bag on Finn. Maybe they feel they're ready to be parents together."

"_I _was ready to be a dad! And it hasn't even been that long; Quinn couldn't have matured that much over the course of, like, eight months!"

"That may be true, but you never know. People can change, Puck. I know that from experience."

I thought about that. I could change. I _did_ change. I was a better person now, I knew it. Sure, I still beat people up, but for good reasons. I was a father now—technically speaking, anyway—and I truly was growing up.

I nodded. "Yeah, I guess they can. I mean, who's to say that Quinn won't love me back again one day?"

"Attaboy! There's the optimistic Puck I know!"

I grinned. "Thanks for your help, Mr. Schue. I guess I should . . . forgive Finn. And I should tell Quinn how I feel. Actually, I think I already did."

Mr. Schue tilted his head. "How so?"

"I sang to her in rehearsal today," I said with a shrug. "'Here Comes Goodbye' by Rascal Flatts."

"That's a good song." Mr. Schue nodded. "And I guess it really relates to your position right now."

"Yeah, that's why I sang it. I really didn't know what to do or say after, so I ran off. And I ended up here."

"Ah. I see," Mr. Schue sighed. "Well, at least you found a way to express your feelings. And I'm glad it was through song."

I laughed. "Yep. Learned from the best."

"Thanks, Puck."

I nodded once. "Hope you come back to school soon, Mr. Schue." I turned and headed out of the LPI with a lot to think about and a lot to do.


	25. Fire

**Finn's POV is love! Enjoy and review!**

Fire

Finn's POV

I was gonna be a dad.

I couldn't believe it. Me, Finn Hudson, a father. At seventeen years old.

It wasn't even that far down the road. Quinn's due date was just three months away, and then we'd have a son. I would have a son with the girl I swore I'd never love again. She'd slept with my best friend, for Christ's sake. How could I _not_ be mad at her? But I never truly got over her, honestly. I would lie awake and hope to God that Quinn and I would get back together one day. All was forgiven when she came to my house one night and . . . things happened.

I was scared to death. Sure, I'd had this feeling of being a fearful soon-to-be-father before, but this time it was different. More . . . real. Much more terrifying.

How was I supposed to take care of a baby? A living thing? A little boy? I'd never even been near a baby before. The closest I'd ever been to one was Beth at the hospital. And I didn't even see her; all I knew was that she had been in the room right down the hall from the waiting room, where me and the rest of the Glee Club had been waiting anxiously for news.

I was going to have to be in that delivery room with Quinn, holding her hand. I would be encouraging her. I would be praying that everything would turn out fine. And then I would have to bring the baby home. I'd have to hold him, change his diapers, feed him, bathe him, put him down to sleep, play with him, and love him. I would have to wake up in the middle of the night for him. I'd have to bring him to school every morning and drop him off at the school daycare until Quinn and I found him a more permanent place to stay throughout the weekdays.

I wasn't ready for all this. I was only seventeen.

I felt dizzy as I walked down the hall, searching for Quinn. She was at her locker, as she usually was first thing in the morning, right before Glee Club rehearsal. I forcefully rubbed my clammy palm against my throbbing head, hoping to ease some of the pain. It didn't help. I took a deep breath and ambled unsteadily toward Quinn.

"Hey," I breathed.

She looked up at me and smirked. "Hey."

"I need to talk to you," I said, my breathing becoming staggered.

Quinn's small smile weakened until it was nothing but a frown. She blinked, folding one arm above the bulge on her torso and sliding the other arm underneath the swelling. "Okay. What's wrong?"

My stomach lurched. Every time Quinn held her baby bump like that, it made me think of her cradling a real baby. I gulped. "It's about the baby. I'm scared, Quinn. I'm frigging scared. I don't know how to take care of a baby. What if I do something wrong? Or what if we get into a fight and one of us ends up being a single parent? I just have no clue—"

Quinn grabbed my hands and cut me off. "Finn. Calm down. We've talked about this before. Our parents have agreed to help us."

"I know. But this is _our_ kid. _We're_ responsible for everything that happens in his life."

"I realize that," Quinn murmured. "And I also realize that this will be hard. But we can do it, Finn. We have support from our parents and our friends, who are going to help us. We've both got some growing up to do; we're only seventeen. I know you're scared. I am, too. But we can provide for this baby."

I nodded, staring at the white linoleum floor. Quinn was right. Still, putting the baby up for adoption could give him two parents who were older and had always wanted a baby and actually prepared for one. But this was our son, and Quinn and I decided on keeping him mutually, so that's what we were going to do.

I felt a grin play at the corners of my mouth. My headache had gradually disappeared, though my stomach still felt uneasy. I ignored it and slipped my arm around Quinn's waist, pulling her toward me. I felt her small hand on my back as we walked together, on our way to Glee rehearsal. I caught a glimpse of Rachel from the corner of my eye. She stared right at me and stopped walking. I looked at her. She seemed to be faking a smile, but it could have been that she was just upset. She waved at me. I gave her a brief, subtle wave of the hand and a friendly smirk before continuing on with Quinn.

* * *

The rest of the day went by quickly. I was home, working on my homework, something I rarely did. But on this particular afternoon, I had absolutely nothing to do; everyone else already had plans, my laptop was currently dead, and I figured it would be impossible playing video games with only one functional hand. Plus, I probably needed good grades if I ever wanted to go to college and get a job. The work was taking forever, though; writing with one arm sucked.

Once my algebra homework was done, I decided to begin my Spanish essay, a paper our class had to write entirely in Spanish. The topic we had to write about was something we regretted doing but learned to love. As soon as Mr. Brody, who was subbing for Mr. Schuester, explained this prompt to the class, I felt like it was directed toward me only, and it almost made me laugh.

I was going to cheat, no doubt. I'd just write it all in English and translate it to Spanish on Google or something. I found Kurt's laptop hidden in the back of his bookshelf and, as it was turning on, ran upstairs to grab something to drink. I pulled a can of Coke out of the fridge and went back downstairs. I wondered how hard it would be to type with one hand. When I sat down at the desk and began to bring up Microsoft Word 2007 on the computer, my cell phone vibrated. I had a text message.

**From: Rachel  
****Status: ****Urgent  
**_**Meet me at my house, ASAP. Quinn's here. It's an EMERGENCY. Hurry, Finn.**_

I read the message over four times before I actually took action. I turned off the computer, took a swig of Coke, and grabbed my jacket before rushing out to the car.

I sped down the road, my jaw clenched. I had to slam on the horn of the car three times, all because morons kept cutting me off. What kind of emergency could it be? Why was Quinn at Rachel's house? Since when was Rachel Quinn's go-to friend for help? I thought something might be wrong with the baby or something, so I sped up even more, if that was even possible.

When I got to Rachel's, I was in such a rush that I almost forgot to put the car in park. I ran up the walkway and knocked on the door, shaking my leg anxiously. Rachel answered, her expression contorted in a way that was both fearful and sympathetic.

"What's wrong?" I asked quickly, looking past her to see if Quinn was somewhere behind her.

Tears filled Rachel's eyes as she grabbed my arm and pulled me into the house. I closed the door behind me before Rachel began pulling me up the stairs.

"Finn, we may need to get Quinn to the hospital quickly. We think there's something wrong with the baby."

My stomach dropped. I felt my throat close up. I quickly developed a migraine and was suddenly lightheaded.

Rachel tightened her grip on the sleeve of my coat and lugged me on until we were in the bright, colorful, childlike bedroom I knew could only belong to Rachel Berry. Two hot pink pillows were against the wall, and Quinn was leaning on them. The bottom of her blue dress was around her knees, which her head rested on. Her white cardigan was almost falling off. She had her white flats still on, her feet pressing into the mattress. She was leaning over, her eyes squeezed shut. She held onto her stomach in obvious searing pain. And she was weeping, letting out screeching wails of agony.

"Quinn!" I ran over to the bed, lifting Quinn into my arms. "What happened, Rachel?"

"We were just hanging out," Rachel cried as we flew down the staircase. "My dads aren't home, and my car is at the mechanics right now. Quinn's stomach was suddenly hurting, and it got increasingly worse, and then she started crying and screaming and she's sure it's the baby."

I set Quinn in the backseat of my car and quickly ran to the driver's side. Rachel got the passenger seat. My hands were locked vigorously on the steering wheel. I felt like I was going to cry. Rachel was bawling. Quinn was screaming in anguish as she lay in the backseat.

"It's okay, Quinn. We'll be at the hospital soon," I said softly, attempting to somehow soothe her.

"I think it's the baby," Quinn gasped. "He's hurt. There's something wrong."

I took a deep breath. "He'll be fine. Everything's gonna be okay. I know it."

I felt fire build up inside me, astounded at the lack of honesty in the words I'd just spoken.


	26. Mercy

**I LOVE this chapter! And the next one! And the next one's part two! :D**

Mercy

Finn's POV

Despite Quinn's insistence that something was wrong with the baby, everything was perfectly fine. I sort of dozed off when the doctors explained everything to me, but I guessed it was just a bad stomachache and Quinn's panic attack forced her to be hurt even more, somehow. I didn't know. But now we were in school two days after it happened, and Quinn was all right.

"I was thinking . . . Lyric."

"Lyric?"

I nodded at Quinn. The day before, I had gone to see Mr. Schue at the LPI upon hearing Puck had gone there. Mr. Schue had always been like a dad to me; he was really cool when he helped me and gave me advice, especially when I first found out Quinn was pregnant (with Puck's baby) a year ago.

When I saw Mr. Schue, I was allowed to talk to him for a half hour, and I used up all that time and still needed more. I explained to him that Quinn and I were expecting a boy and were going to keep him. Then I gave him the speech about how I was afraid and felt like I wasn't ready. He proceeded to tell me that I'd be a great father and that I was ready enough to take on the world if I wanted to, and it took him at least five minutes to put it into one of his famous inspirational lectures. Somehow or other, the two of us got into a conversation of what to name the baby.

Now I was standing by Quinn's locker. I had waltzed right up and said I was thinking of names for the kid, and she stopped and turned around as soon as I gave my suggestion: Lyric.

"Yeah. Lyric," I said. "I was talking to Mr. Schue last night at the LPI. When he was thinking of names for his kid—well, what he though was going to be his kid—he tried to think of things close to his heart. So I thought of things close to _my_ heart. I could mostly only think about Glee Club. So I played around with some stuff and looked online and found the name Lyric." I looked at the ground sheepishly. "I know you probably think it's really girly and would never give a boy that name. But I saw a movie with a guy named Lyric once. And, plus, it has significance and it's something important to me _and_ you. Unlike Drizzle . . ." I shook my head.

"Finn, I think . . . it's beautiful."

I looked up at her, and she had a small smirk on her face, her eyebrows raised above her glistening green eyes. "Really?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"I was so sure you'd shut it down. You really want to use it for the kid?" I asked. I couldn't believe that she would actually agree with me on a name, since she'd so bitterly put down Drizzle as soon as I had suggested it. But now she was agreeing on a name that anyone else would think to be far too feminine to use on a boy.

"Of course," she breathed. "You're right; it's significant and unique and just . . . perfect."

I grinned. "Thanks." I scratched my ear and looked around awkwardly. "So . . . uh . . . Beth doesn't have a middle name, does she?"

"No," Quinn replied, shaking her head slowly. She ran her skinny forefinger along the top of her textbook, her eyes focused on that; she must have been looking for something to distract herself. Her pale pink nails just barely scratched the edges of the book. "We—um, I mean, _Puck_—only told Shelby that her name was Beth. And Shelby never came up with a middle name afterward; she told us."

I nodded. "So do you want Lyric to have a middle name?" It felt strange addressing the baby by a name, what would be his own name when he was born. I clenched my free hand into a fist to hold back a slightly enlivening shudder.

"If you want him to have one," Quinn answered, spinning back around to face her open locker. She put her books on the top shelf and turned to me again. "Can you think of one that might be good?"

"No idea."

Quinn shrugged as she shut her locker door. "Well, we'll think of something. If not, he doesn't have to have one." She smiled at me before heading off to her class. I grinned widely, mock-punching the air faintly as I turned and trudged toward my class victoriously.

Emma's POV

"Have a good day, Jacob. Try not to think so much about Rachel, okay?"

Jacob nodded, sighing as he stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind him. I shook my head. Jacob Ben Israel had one too many problems. His biggest predicament was his obsession over Rachel Berry; it was getting in the way of things, and it was admittedly pretty creepy. But I was used to dealing with all kinds of things kids needed help with.

I flipped through Jacob's file once more before closing it and heading over to the file cabinet. I flicked through all of the folders until I reached the _I_'s, and I put Jacob's file in its designated place. When I turned around and looked out my glass door and into the halls—clear of students, as they were in class—I gasped at the sight and jumped at least a foot backward.

_He_ was standing there, hands in the pockets of his brown jacket. His jeans were faded. He wore one of his infamous white tight-fitting T-shirts. Since it was a Friday—casual Friday—he had on his favorite blue-gray sneakers.

I backed into the wall and started crying immediately.

He pressed his hands against the glass instantly and said my name repeatedly. His tone was worried. I squeezed my eyes shut, shaking my head and sliding down the wall until I was sitting. I pressed my knees to my chest and hugged my knee-length yellow-and-pink flowered skirt close to me, the large yellow bow on my blouse tickling my arms. My hair fell into my face as I shook my head dynamically and cried into my folded arms.

"Emma," I heard his angel-like voice say again. I felt his breath on my arms and panicked instinctively. I crawled toward my desk and leaned my head on the cool wood feel of it. His nervous brown eyes met mine. I cried harder.

"They released me this morning," he explained softly.

"Why?" I sobbed, turning away.

He stood very slowly and took a small step forward. "It's a long story . . . Well, my sentence is over. They were going to keep me one more night, but . . . Sue came and convinced them to let me go early—yes, _Sue Sylvester_—and they agreed, upon taking more persuasion from someone who would visit me almost regularly."

My head snapped up and I stared at him, my eyes narrowed. "Who visited you regularly?"

He tilted his head slightly, blinking slowly, about to say something to avoid the subject, but I knew him well enough to realize when that was going to happen and prevent it. I fluttered to my feet, hands balling into fists my by sides. I gripped tightly the hems on either side of my skirt.

"_Who_, Will?"

"Shelby Corcoran," he responded, almost automatically. "She brought Beth to the LPI a few times just to make sure I was okay." Will put his palms up quickly. "But there's nothing going on between us, Emma; I swear to you."

"How do I know you're telling me the truth?" I demanded, my voice rising. "It's not like you haven't lied before! And I can think up a perfectly awful lie right now that you kept for months – you didn't even tell _me_ that you killed Terri, Will! How do you think that makes me feel? I thought we were going to tell each other everything! What happened to that promise, huh?"

"Emma, please! I've changed!"

"Maybe I didn't want you to change! You wouldn't have _had _to change if you didn't murder your ex-wife!" I sucked in a deep breath. "By the way, I found out which of your students knows the real offense that got you arrested. I kept it to myself, because that's not the kind of secret that needs to be told. The fact that you killed someone, on the other hand, is _definitely_ not a little aspect that you can push to the back of your mind and keep to yourself!"

"Which of the kids knows?"

"It's Quinn, but that doesn't matter right now, Will!"

"Emma, you've said your part. Now, please, listen to me!"

I folded my arms across my chest and waited uncomfortably as tears continued to fall.

Will stared at me thoughtfully. "Being in the LPI helped me, Emma. I realized just how terrible what I did was, and I was even taught how to figure out why I did it in the first place. At first, I thought I only killed Terri because I wanted her out of my life. But, over time, I found that there was something more to my methods." He took another step forward. "I did it because I wanted you. Only you. I didn't want anyone interfering with our love, and the first person I thought would do just that was Terri. So I figured that, if she was out of the picture, you and I could be together forever."

He stepped forward again. He was moving gradually as to not scare me. I liked the feeling of being close to him again, and my heart jumped at the sound of his voice.

Will continued, "My point is that I love you with my life, Emma Pillsbury. I never thought I would hurt _you_ by doing this and, obviously, I was being stupid. You're the only one I ever want to be with. If you forgive me, I promise to always protect you and to hold you when you're scared and to never be so idiotic again. I'll apologize for every little flaw and love you with everything left of my heart." He was crying. "Please forgive me."

My stomach lurched. I felt love again. I knew this was it. I had to forgive him.

I loved him.

Slowly, I nodded. I walked toward him. My eyes fixed on his smiling face, I leaned in to hug him. He was so warm.

I never knew I could feel so safe and loving in the embrace of a killer.


	27. Beautiful, Part One

**I am officially REALLY excited for you guys to read this chapter and its part two, so I am going to quit the jabber and let you read it! Enjoy and review!**

Beautiful

Puck's POV

Pretending to listen to teachers came pretty naturally to me now. I never really cared what they had to say, unless it had to do with me. Usually, it didn't, so why did I have to listen?

Suddenly, Mr. Brody's droning voice was interrupted by a familiar voice on the loudspeaker. After a moment of static, the voice spoke up: "Could the following students please come to the choir room? Rachel Berry, . . ."

Everyone turned to look at Rachel. She straightened her back and stared at the speaker, waiting to hear more names.

"Finn Hudson, . . ."

Finn's head, which was previously resting on his folded arms, snapped up. He rubbed his eyes quickly and hummed, "What?" I rolled my eyes at him.

"Quinn Fabray, . . ."

Quinn's eyebrows came together. She had been leaning back against the chair before, but when she heard her name, she leaned forward.

"Noah Puckerman, . . ."

I raised an eyebrow. They'd called Rachel, Finn, Quinn, and then me. Maybe . . .

"Kurt Hummel, Mercedes Jones, Artie Abrams, Tina Cohen-Chang, . . ."

Yeah, they were calling the Glee Club to the choir room. Could've figured that out before, probably. But, again, I didn't care what teachers talked about until they said my name. Kurt, Mercedes, Artie, and Tina all came forward slowly from the back of the room.

"Santana Lopez, Matt Rutherford, Mike Chang, and Brittany."

Brittany smiled. Nobody seemed to ever say her last name. I didn't even know what the hell it was. Everyone just knew that she was Brittany, the ditzy blond that smiled at the sound of her own first name over the piece-of-shit intercom.

"As stated before, those twelve students should come to the choir room at this time. Thank you."

Rachel strode to the front of the room. She waited in the doorway while the rest of us caught up. We walked in a small group toward the choir room.

"Was that Mr. Schue on the loudspeaker?" Finn asked.

_No, shitface,_ I wanted to say sarcastically. _It was Miss Pillsbury calling a fucking emergency Glee Club meeting._

Before I could say what I wanted to, Quinn replied, "Yes. He must be back."

"Well, this is wonderful! Now we can start rehearsals with our true Glee Club director once again!" Rachel exclaimed, her voice much more sprightly than it needed to be.

I folded my arms across my chest and sighed. "I never thought Mr. Schue would be arrested, let alone go to the LPI. He's such a badass." I shook my head. "I never even knew he had it in him. And _he's_ the one who's always telling me to be nice and shit."

"He's made a few bad choices," Rachel breathed, "but I'm sure his experiences have helped him change his ways and become a better person."

I felt the need to punch myself in the face every time Rachel said something.

Finally, we made it to the choir room. As soon as we stepped in, we stopped in the doorway and looked around for Mr. Schue. When I came to the conclusion that he wasn't there yet, I was the first to tread across the floor and plop down on one of the red chairs. I was soon followed by everyone else. I felt my stomach lurch when Quinn sat right near me—there was just one chair separating us—but Finn sat on her other side and put his arm around her, and my heart sank. I slouched down and crossed my arms, looking away quickly.

Suddenly, Finn's voice started to rise. I turned around to see him on the edge of his chair, as far away from Quinn as he could be. His eyebrows were pulled together. Quinn arched her back, holding her stomach, a grimace fixed on her face. Her eyes were tear-filled. Everyone else was watching them as well.

"Finn, what are you talking about?" Quinn asked.

Finn got to his feet. "I'm talking about how all you've been doing is complaining for the past few weeks. You're always just telling me how sick you're feeling. You think I don't know already? I care about you, Quinn. I want you and the baby to be healthy because I love you both. But you have no idea how irritating it is to have to listen to you whine all freaking day long. You won't even kiss me when I try to!"

Quinn stood as well. "You have _no_ idea what the hell I'm dealing with!"

"There you go again!" Finn shouted.

"Well, I'm sorry that I'm so annoying! If you can't stand the fact that I'm carrying _your_ baby and trying to keep him healthy, then just go!"

Finn's face softened slightly. "Maybe I will." It only took him four long strides to get to the door, and he trudged out into the hall, slamming the door behind him. Everybody's eyes were on Quinn again. She stared after him, her cheeks tear-stained. Slowly, she sat down and stared down at her stomach.

I considered killing Finn once again.

Abruptly, Mr. Schue came into the choir room from his office. He was staring at his shoes and he had his hands in his pockets. Slowly, he stepped to the middle of the room and sighed, looking up at us.

"Where's Finn?"

"He and I just got into a fight," Quinn murmured. "He left."

Mr. Schue nodded slowly. "I'm sorry about that."

Quinn shrugged.

"Most of you—if not all of you—probably hate me," he said.

Rachel raised her hand. "I don't th—"

"Rachel, it's my turn to speak," Mr. Schue uttered quietly.

Rachel nodded.

Mr. Schue sighed. "Look, guys. I'm an idiot, I know. I shouldn't have done what I did." He shook his head. "I've given this speech so many times, and to a lot of different people. It's getting pretty old, but it's true. All I could ever ask for is that you guys forgive me. Nothing could make me happier. So what do you guys say? I understand if you don't want to let it go."

"I forgive you," Rachel piped up, grinning.

"Why shouldn't we?" Mercedes shrugged. "At least you're back now."

"Just follow my motto: forgive and forget," Matt said with a shrug.

"Yeah," Mike agreed.

"So . . . is there anyone who _doesn't_ forgive me?" Mr. Schue asked. He was on the verge of breaking into a huge smile.

"Mr. Schue?"

Everyone turned to Quinn, believing she was about to say that she didn't forgive Mr. Schue. She stared straight ahead, green eyes wide, her hands on her stomach. She doubled over slightly, her jaw clenched.

"Yes, Quinn?" Mr. Schue questioned gently.

"I—I think my water just broke."


	28. Beautiful, Part Two

**Here's part two! It was so fun writing-one of my favorite chapters so far-so I hope you enjoy it! Review!**

Puck's POV

Automatically, I was on my feet, staring at Quinn. Eyes flashed from me to Quinn quickly. Someone gasped. Mr. Schue approached Quinn swiftly and knelt down beside her.

"Are you sure?" He looked down slowly, but his head snapped back up immediately.

Quinn nodded. "I'm positive. But it's three months early! Does that mean there's something wrong?"

"I don't know," Mr. Schue responded honestly, "but we've got to get you to the hospital! Come on! Everyone, head back to class!"

I was about to protest, but before I could, Mercedes spoke up. "But we want to come. Like last time."

"If it's okay with Quinn, then—"

"Yes, come. I want you all there," Quinn breathed as Mr. Schue helped her stand.

"Someone needs to get Finn!" Kurt called, leaping to his feet.

No one said anything. Everybody just rushed to Quinn's aid, holding onto her arm, trailing behind, or clearing the way for everyone to get by. Meanwhile, I stood frozen in my spot. Finally, I was released from my trance. I sprinted forward and moved past everyone.

"I'll get him," I yelled over my shoulder, and then continued forward. I couldn't kill Finn right now, but I could at least prove to him that he was a dumbass.

I knew he wouldn't have gone back to class. He would have run out of the school and would probably be roaming around Lima aimlessly, ending up at the park or something. But then he'd spend a full minute standing there, staring at the ground with that dopey-ass look of his, and he'd go home and play Halo for hours and finally just call Quinn to try and fix whatever the hell he fucked up. Finn had been my best friend forever; I knew him way too well.

I checked my watch as I ran and estimated that he'd probably be on his way to the park. I ran faster and saw the park just down the street. When I got there, it was completely empty, with the exception of one fucking Frankenteen standing in the middle of the grass, staring down at his shoes with his lips pursed and his eyebrows scrunched together. I refrained from rolling my eyes and jogged toward him, giving him a harsh punch in the shoulder as I came to a stop.

"Hey!" Finn grumbled, turning to face me. "What the hell was that for?"

"For being the biggest dumbass I've ever known," I told him bitterly.

"Why?" he asked idiotically.

"You should be at the hospital right now, along with Mr. Schue and everyone else in New Directions," I muttered. "In fact, I shouldn't have even come here to get you, but you're the person who is _supposed_ to be there the most, so I was being a good person."

"What are you talking about? I'm confused."

_No surprise there, _I thought to myself. "Quinn's in labor three months early. We have to go. They're on their way to the hospital right now."

Finn's eyes widened. I groaned and grabbed his arm, yanking him forward. When I let go, he was running right with me, at the same pace. I led him back to the school and to my truck. We hopped in and I sped down the road. Finn pressed his hand against the door of the truck and his other hand clutched the edge of the seat. He breathed roughly through his nose.

"You okay?" I asked, though I wasn't really concerned. He could die right now, for all I cared. But there had been an awkward silence, and I'd been waiting for him to break it. It was apparent to me now, though, that he wasn't going to.

"Yeah," Finn choked out, obviously lying.

"Dude, it isn't as bad as you think it's gonna be. She's just gonna pop that sucker out and you'll realize it was worth all the screaming and crying and fighting over nine terrorizing months. Or, in Quinn's case with Beth, eight months." I sighed, remembering how much it hurt me to hear Quinn's agonizing screams, yelling at me about how much I sucked.

"But it's only been six months," Finn reminded me. "Is there something wrong with the baby? Why is it coming three months early?"

"Do I look like a doctor to you? How would I know?"

Finn whipped his head around to look at me. "I don't know! You have a kid! What _do_ you know about premature babies?"

"That Beth was one, and she was very small."

"That's it?"

"Basically." I sucked in a deep breath. "I'm a teenage dude! How would I know anything else? Quinn knows more than I do, and _she _barely knows anything."

"Okay, fine! Just hurry up!"

We made it to the hospital and I ran with Finn inside. He started talking to the lady at the desk, the same cranky old woman—Janie—that had been there when the rest of New Directions had come to visit Finn. Finn spoke in such a rush that I could barely understand what he was saying, let alone the hundred-year-old hag behind the desk.

"I'm gonna need you to slow down," Janie mumbled spitefully, her voice ringing in my ears. I didn't remember it being so nasally and monotone. I wanted to bang my head against the table to get the pestering noise out of my brain. "What's your name and what're you here for?"

"My name is Finn Hudson," he panted. "My girlfriend's having a baby. Her name's Quinn Fabray."

Finn drummed his fingers on the desktop while I leaned my shoulder against the reception desk and shoved my hands into my pockets. Janie took her time scrolling through a list on the computer. She rested her chin on her hand and began softly humming a tune under her breath. Finn stared at her and his face reddened, and then it darkened to purple. I realized he was holding his breath in frustration. I hit him in the arm—hard—so that he would let it out, and he did. He nodded once at me in a way of saying thanks.

"Okay. Go down the hall, take a right, and at the end of _that_ hall is room seventy-six," Janie directed. "Quinn Fabray is currently in there with several doctors and two guys whose names I didn't care enough to pick up, let alone remember and want to tell you."

Finn and I glanced at each other briefly.

"If she doesn't want _you_ in there," Janie muttered, pointing to me, "then you'll go to the waiting room across the hall from her room. There are about ten other people in there already."

I nodded and followed an already-running Finn through the halls. When we got to Quinn's room, Finn hesitated, but then he burst through the door.

Three doctors turned their heads toward Finn and me while two other physicians huddled over a thick stack of papers. Quinn lay on the bed in a pale blue hospital gown, her lower body underneath the white sheets. Her blond hair spilled over her shoulders in a mess, and she had her eyes squeezed shut. Mr. Schue and Kurt were clad in hospital scrubs and rubber gloves as they stood on either side of Quinn. The two of them had one of Quinn's hands between both of theirs, and they both tried to soothe Quinn as she doubled over in the pain of a contraction.

Finn glanced at me briefly.

"I—I should go . . ." I was about to turn around to head to the waiting room across the hall, but Finn's hand caught my shoulder.

"No," he muttered, and I turned to look at him. "Stay in here. It's cool."

I just stared at his blameless face. He gave me one slight nod—I knew he would have been smirking, had he not been so edgy—before heading over to Quinn's bedside. He nodded at Kurt, and Kurt stepped aside. Quinn's eyelids fluttered open as Kurt's diminutive gloved hands were replaced by Finn's large ones. Quinn stared at Finn with teary green eyes.

"I'm sorry, Quinn," Finn whispered. "I shouldn't have flipped out on you like that. I just didn't understand what you were going through. But when Puck met me at the park to tell me you were in labor, I just panicked, and I felt so guilty for yelling at you, like, ten minutes before."

Quinn pressed her lips together tightly—trying to prevent herself from crying—before she spoke in a hoarse voice. "It's okay. I'm just glad you're here now."

Finn smirked, about to say "awesome," but he'd barely muttered out the "awe" before Quinn let out an excruciating moan. Finn's eyes widened and he flashed a worried look to Mr. Schue, who was directly across from Finn. Mr. Schue reached over and patted Finn comfortingly on the shoulder once before going back to holding Quinn's hand.

"It hurts," Quinn groaned. "The pain is so much worse than last time." She looked up at the doctors. "And I went into labor three months early. Are you sure there's nothing wrong with him?"

I felt awkward, just standing there in the doorway with my hands in my pockets. It was even weirder considering Quinn probably didn't want me in there, but _Finn_ did.

As the thoughts ran through my mind, Finn motioned me over. Gawkily, I staggered across the floor and stood next to Mr. Schue. Quinn looked up at me questioningly. I nodded toward Finn once, implying that he'd invited me in. When Quinn stared up at him, Finn nodded, and Quinn's green eyes returned to me. I smirked slightly.

God, she was so beautiful, even giving birth.


	29. One

**Another chapter in Will's POV! Yay! I really like this chapter because it expresses Will and Finn's father-son kind of relationship. I love how it is in the show and wanted to interpret it into the story! Enjoy and review! :)**

One

Will's POV

"Here; put these on now," a doctor ordered, shoving a pile of blue scrubs into Finn's hands. The terrified teenager looked down at them, and then his eyes moved to me. He swallowed briefly before going to put them on.

I felt sympathy for Finn. He was only seventeen and—I had to admit—slightly immature for his age. Of course, I felt bad for Quinn, too. But she was wise beyond her years and I knew she was ready for this. Finn, on the other hand, was like a son to me, and if my own son was at the maturity level that Finn was on, I definitely wouldn't want him raising a baby alone. That was why Finn needed Quinn, and even the extra help from their parents.

When Finn returned, dressed in pale blue material and white rubber gloves, I pulled him aside.

"Hey," I sighed. "Maybe we should go to the waiting room for a little bit." I stared at his slowly falling eyelids and the dark purple bags under his eyes. "You look like you need a nap. Plus, it'll help relieve some of the stress on you right now if you just relax."

Finn shook his head, rubbing his eyes. "No, I have to stay with Quinn."

"She needs rest." I looked over my shoulder at Quinn as she lay on the bed, half-asleep, listening to a doctor speak. I turned back around to Finn. "Puck and Kurt went into the waiting room about ten minutes ago; they're tired, too." I put my hands on his shoulders. "It's all right, Finn. If anything happens, they'll be sure to run in and get you."

Finn looked at me for a few moments, but then he nodded. I patted him on he back and walked with him across the hall. Suddenly, eleven kids were on their feet, eyes wide.

"Did anything happen yet?"

"Is the baby here?"

"Is Quinn okay?"

"Everything's fine," I assured the club, leading Finn to a chair. "The baby isn't here yet. Quinn's just about ready to fall asleep, and so is Finn. So we just came out here to take a break."

Finn plopped down on a chair, as did everyone else in the club. But Puck stood up again soon after, beginning to pace around the room. He was still in his faded blue jeans and his brown T-shirt, with no scrubs on. He was nervous as hell; I could just see it in his eyes. Suddenly, he turned on his heel and sat in the chair next to Finn.

"Ashton's a cool name," I overheard Puck say.

Finn looked at him exhaustedly. "Ashton?"

"Yeah." Puck shrugged. "I just thought you could use it, if you didn't have a name already."

"Why are you suggesting a name?" Finn asked, leaning his head against the wall behind him and closing his eyes. "I thought you hated me."

"I do," Puck muttered, "but that doesn't mean I can't ask you to name the kid Ashton."

"We already have a name picked out."

Puck sighed. "What about a middle name?"

Finn didn't say anything.

"Well, there you go," Puck breathed. "_Now_ you've got a middle name for him."

Finn opened his eyes and looked at Puck, his head still against the wall. "Why should I use the name, anyway? _I_ hate _you_."

"Who cares if you hate me?" Puck asked. "Like I said before, I hate you, too. But it's just a name. And I want to see the kid sometimes, too, so why not contribute a little something?" Then Puck stood up and crossed the room.

Finn lifted his head. He stared at the ground with his eyebrows together. I smiled. I remembered imagining him doing just that when I visited him in the hospital. I shook my head, chuckling quietly, and then I knelt down next to Kurt's chair.

"Did you call your parents?" I asked him quietly.

"Yes." Kurt brought two fingers to his temple. "Carole's still fighting with her boss and trying to get out of work early without getting fired; it's not going well, I assume. My dad is on his way now. I also called Quinn's mom a few minutes ago, and she said she'll be here soon."

I nodded, patting his shoulder. "Good. Thanks, Kurt." I stood up and went back to the doorway, leaning against the white doorframe. Finn was out cold already, snoring only softly. Rachel was speaking with Mercedes and Tina, though I couldn't quite make out what they were saying. Mike sat with Artie and Matt, discussing something about girls. Santana and Brittany were texting away and gossiping in a whisper. Puck paced around again, mumbling very quietly to himself. Kurt struggled to get rid of a migraine.

In that moment, I felt my teacher instincts spring up, and I felt I should help ease their stress. But I didn't know if this was something I should let them get over on their own. Most of them had to have been tired of my inspirational lectures, and maybe the last thing some of them wanted to hear.

Still, I stood up and sighed. "You guys are all nervous, right?"

All heads turned to me. Puck even stopped pacing. They nodded.

"The baby is fine," I assured them, "and so is Quinn. Everything's going to be okay. So what is getting you all so worked up?"

"You never know what's going to happen," Tina murmured. "Something could go wrong at any moment."

"That's true, but why should we think of that right now? Why not think of the positives?"

"Like what?" Santana asked, folding her arms across her chest.

I shrugged. "Well, the baby may grow up to be the most famous person the world has ever known. Plus, babies are fun!" I exclaimed, grinning. Some of the kids smirked, too. "And the best part is that we'll have a new Glee club member!"

Rachel stood up. "I'll teach him everything I know!"

"Another baby like Berry?" Puck shuddered mockingly. He—along with everyone else—laughed when Rachel hit his shoulder.

I chuckled. "See how everyone's mood changed when we thought of the positives?"

Suddenly, a doctor came in. He tapped me on the shoulder and I turned around.

"We're going to begin the cesarean section soon," he informed me quietly. "Only one person is allowed in."

I nodded. "Thank you."

He left the waiting room then, heading back to Quinn's room. I thumped Finn's shoulder hard enough to wake him up.

"What?" Finn muttered, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He ran a hand through his already-messy hair. I grabbed his arm and easily pulled him to his feet.

"They're starting the c-section," I told Finn. As if to clarify, I said, "The baby's coming now."

Finn's eyes widened. "Like . . . right now?"

"Yes, right now." I slapped his back lightly. "Only one person is allowed in there. I'm sure Quinn wants it to be you."

"But . . . I can't! I—I'm not ready!"

"I know you're not ready," I said. "You're seventeen; you wouldn't even be ready if the baby _hadn't_ come three months early. But this is happening now, Finn. The baby—_your_ baby—is coming. You're going to be a father in less than twenty minutes, and you need to be there for Quinn. This is one of the moments I know you don't want to go through, and I know you think you can't do this, but you can, and you have to." I pulled him in for a hug, and I heard him take a deep breath. I pulled away and held onto his arms firmly, nodding at him. He walked with a horrified expression across the hall and into Quinn's hospital room.

I didn't know why, but I almost felt like crying.


	30. Gives You Hell

**This chapter just breaks my damn heart. Read it, enjoy it, and write a review about it, because if you do, I'll love you! I've had fifteen reviews for the past few chapters; my sixteenth reviewer will be amazing! :D**

Gives You Hell

Finn's POV

I took a deep breath and trudged forward. This was it. Just as Mr. Schue had said, in less than twenty minutes, I would be a father.

And I wasn't ready.

I had dreadful second thoughts as I continued forward. The world seemed to be moving in slow motion. My breathing was staggered, and I felt myself about to start to sweat.

Maybe Quinn and I shouldn't have even considered keeping the baby. Just like Beth, a baby of teenage parents could have a much better life with older people who actually wanted it and was going to love it. Of course, I was going to love my own son, but we didn't plan on having him. I'd had six months to prepare myself for fatherhood, but I had thought I could have much more time. Everything went by too fast, and now things were going too slowly for my liking.

My head was pounding and my heart thumped against my chest. I approached Quinn's bedside and held her hand in mine. She looked up at me with a pained grimace, her eyes teary and exhausted. It hurt to see her like this. I swallowed hard and forced a small smile, though it ended up just being a brief smirk before my petrified expression returned.

Suddenly, I got dizzy. I was lost in my own mind. I dropped to my knees. When Quinn asked if I was okay, I told her I was just a little tired of standing. But the truth was that I was falling apart inside, my heart beginning to shatter slowly. I felt like I was about to fall asleep as I was slowly being pulled under by a dark wave of unconsciousness. I struggled to keep my eyes open. The profoundness of acrimony washed over me unexpectedly. I knew I was going to collapse at any moment.

The room started spinning. I sometimes felt Quinn's hand tighten on mine, but I couldn't see her. I couldn't see anything. I was oblivious of everything around me. The uneven hammering of my heart pulsed in my ears. My blood was cold as it raced through my veins. I felt more lightheaded and sickly with each moment that passed.

Quinn's petite hand held onto mine tightly. Her fingers constricted mine once more before I couldn't take it anymore. I fell onto my side, Quinn's hand slipping out of my grasp in the process. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath until I couldn't even hear myself breathing anymore. I was slipping into oblivion every second.

It felt as if I were falling into a coma again.

And I couldn't let that happen.

When my eyes reopened, I was sitting up, my back being held by four gloved hands. Two doctors crouched on either side of me. I heard their voices ringing in my ears, but they sounded terribly distant. I brought my hands to my eyes and rubbed them. After a moment or two, everything started coming back to me. The doctors were asking if I was okay. I blinked several times until things became less blurry. The room had stopped spinning.

"I'm okay," I sighed, my voice barely a whisper. The doctors helped me stand. It was then that I noticed the migraine that had formed. I shook my head slowly. I leaned over and my hands fumbled around until they found Quinn's. I felt the warmness of her skinny fingers under my rubber gloves. It didn't take me more than a second to recognize her small smile and grin back widely.

I was okay then. I focused on Quinn's face, squeezing her hand. I didn't know how much time passed. I wasn't even paying attention until, suddenly, I heard a slightly muffled cry.

I turned my head to see what it was.

And there he was.

My eyes widened. Everything had been going in slow motion, but now—just like in the past six months—things were moving in fast-forward. One moment, a tiny, squirming figure all pink and red and white was ten feet from me. But I couldn't see him now; he was blocked by a wall of several doctors while more than a few other doctors huddled around Quinn, basically shoving me aside. I felt like a lost puppy, standing in the middle of the room, not knowing where to go. I watched as three doctors brought the baby out of the room.

Finally, someone put their hand on my arm. I turned to see a nurse with straight, light brown hair and blue eyes looking at me, smiling. My eyes were still wide, as they had been for at least two full minutes now. I clenched my teeth together. The nurse tugged me forward. I followed her out the door and into the hall.

"My name is Isabella, but you can just call me Bella," the nurse told me. "I'm the primary nurse for your baby."

I nodded. "Oh."

I figured she could tell that I didn't know what that meant, because she said, "I'm the nurse that's been assigned to your baby specifically. He's in the neonatal intensive care unit—mostly called the NICU—right now."

Although I barely understood what Bella said, I'd watched enough Discovery Channel with Burt to see commercials for the TV show _NICU_. Babies only went into the NICU if there were serious problems.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked quickly.

"He's having trouble breathing on his own right now," Bella informed me. "He's currently in good hands, and we're going to try everything we can. It's too early to tell the chances of his survival, but this is very common with babies born so prematurely, and they're almost always okay."

_Almost always_. The words were taunting me. I nodded at her, anyway.

"I'll be giving you frequent updates about what's happening. For now, you can go in there and see Quinn," Bella told me. "It will take about forty-five minutes to an hour for them to fix her up. During that time, she'll be awake and responsive, so you can talk to her. Also, if the baby is well enough, you may be able to take him in there for some time to see his mother."

I nodded. "Thanks." She turned to go to the NICU while I went back to Quinn's room. I returned to my spot next to her head.

Quinn looked at me jadedly. "How is he?"

"He's in the NICU," I told Quinn quietly, my voice hoarse. "His primary nurse told me he's having trouble breathing on his own and that they're doing everything they can, and she said it's too early to tell his chances of survival."

Quinn's face fell, and my heart sank at the same moment. It hurt enough hearing it from Bella, but having to tell Quinn and watch her sadden just broke my heart. Quinn turned away and let her head hit the pillow gently, closing her eyes with a sigh.

After about ten minutes, Bella was in the doorway. She motioned me over without the friendly smile she previously possessed. I approached her and we returned to our prior positions in the hallway.

"Now I can honestly say that things aren't looking good," she told me sincerely, her eyes full of sympathy. "I hate to say this, but his chances of survival are currently pretty low."

I felt like I was going to cry. "How low?"

"There's about a twenty percent chance that he's going to live."

I stared at the ground, my mind going in a whirl. She was basically telling me that the baby I'd fought for, cried over, taken beatings for, waited so long to see, was dying. I closed my eyes and inhaled shakily.

Bella placed a hand on my forearm. "We're doing absolutely anything we can," she assured me, "but, pretty soon, there won't be many more options and we'll have done everything we could."

I nodded as she turned away again. Unsteadily, I went toward the waiting room. Slowly, I pushed the door open. Mr. Schue was standing right in front of me in less than a second. My mom stood behind him, gripping Burt's arm, and Mrs. Fabray was standing there as well. The Glee Club all stood and came forward in a group at once.

"Is Quinn okay?" Mrs. Fabray asked.

"What about the baby?" Mom asked. "Where is he?"

I swallowed hard and looked up at all of their anxiously waiting faces.

"Quinn's fine," I muttered. "She's getting stitched up right now." I folded my arms across my chest and looked at my shoes. "But the baby . . . he's . . ." I squeezed my eyes shut and breathed deeply, but nobody moved or said anything. They were waiting for me to finish. I looked up again, this time with tears rolling down my face. "The nurse said there's a twenty percent chance he's going to live. He's dying."

Suddenly, Mr. Schue pulled me in for a hug. I'd hugged him so many times in my life, but he was always the one who was the most comforting. I hugged him back and cried into his shoulder. He didn't even mind. When I pulled away, I fell into my mother's embrace. She cried along with me. I held her for a good two minutes before I received a brief hug from Burt. I acknowledged a crying Mrs. Fabray with a friendly nod as I wiped my tears away. Rachel, tears streaming down her cheeks, stood on her toes to hug me. When she let go, she looked up at me and mouthed the words _I'm sorry. _I moved on to the rest of the club, earning a hug from Tina, Mercedes, Santana, and Brittany. All four of them were crying. Teary-eyed Kurt gave me a quick one-arm embrace, which wasn't too awkward anymore, considering he was my stepbrother now. I high-fived Artie and fist-pounded Matt and Mike. Puck was the only one left. He stood there, his face contorted in a way that expressed both empathy and sorrow. Finally, he held out his arms for a hug. I obliged, hugging him for ten seconds at the most before needing to pull away and shaking his hand.

I headed back toward the door. "I think I should go back and see Quinn now," I announced. "I'll let you know when she can have visitors and if anything happens with the baby."

Everybody nodded, granting me apologetic smiles before I went across the hall again. I, once again, returned to me spot next to Quinn's head. She looked at me.

"Any news?"

"He's got a twenty percent chance of survival."

"So he's dying?"

"I think so."

Quinn turned away again. She closed her eyes. I didn't understand how she could be so calm about this. I had just been crying, for God's sake. She hadn't even shed a tear. She had to have cared; this was our kid.

I knelt down next to her and wondered.


	31. Highway to Hell

**THE LAST CHAPTER! Holy schnizzle! But don't worry: I left a VERY nice cliffhanger as the end of this story! Do you know what that means? Yes! A sequel! :D I'm planning the sequel as a future fic, and each chapter is going to be a different person's POV, I think. I'll get working on that right away!**

**Before I do the sequel, though, I'm going to quickly finish up my newest story Triple Threat. That is going to be five to eight chapters at the most, I'm thinking. Following that, I'm going to be starting a new story, one that I haven't tried anything like before. Somewhere between that story, I'll post the sequel to this! Along the way of everything, expect some Kurt & Finn: Brotherly Love one-shots! So that's going to be my life for about the next few months or so, haha. :)**

**Everyone, remember to watch the season two premiere of Glee on Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at eight o'clock eastern time on FOX! I am SURE not going to miss it!**

**Anyway, read on and enjoy the last chapter of Highway to Hell! _Please_ review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, nor do I own any character in the past thirty chapters of this story (besides Lyric).**

Highway to Hell

Finn's POV

Nothing made sense to me anymore.

I was seventeen years old and standing in front of a glass window, staring at the tiny helpless baby in the front of the room – _my _baby. Bella had told me that the babies in the front of the room were the sickest. This baby's skin was so pale, you could see the purplish veins all over his fragile body. A monitor told me that he was still alive. His eyes were closed. He wasn't breathing on his own. He had wires and tubes attached to basically every inch of his body.

"Which one's him?"

I turned to see Mr. Schue walking toward me slowly, Rachel in tow. My eyes moved back to my son, and I pointed him out to the two of them. I repeatedly read the sign affixed to the front of his incubator, the one that said his name – _Lyric_. Quinn and I had specifically asked them to only put his first name, since we hadn't yet decided on his middle name and didn't want there to be a last name yet.

"He's so small," Rachel whispered, pressing her hand up against the glass. She was frowning, her eyes glassy. "Poor thing."

"He isn't breathing on his own, is he?" Mr. Schue asked, his eyes locked on the miniature human being.

I shook my head.

"I'm really sorry, Finn," Rachel murmured. "This is . . . horrible. I would never wish this on anyone, let alone _you_ and Quinn."

I shrugged, and then nodded slowly, swallowing hard.

"Lyric," Mr. Schue read aloud. "That's his name?"

I nodded again.

Rachel smiled. "That's beautiful. It's gorgeous on a little boy."

I almost smirked. "Thanks. I got the idea from Mr. Schue."

The teacher looked at me. "How?"

"When I went to visit you, you told me that, when you were thinking of names for your kid, you thought of things close to your heart," I reminded him. "I did that and I thought of Glee Club, so then I came up with Lyric. Quinn liked it, luckily."

"I'm honored," Mr. Schue said, smiling, turning back to look at the baby, "and I'm not even sure why."

I nodded.

Mr. Schue, Rachel, and I all stayed silent then, just staring at Lyric, knowing that his chances were slim. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Mike standing there with Matt and Artie on his heels. When I spun around further, I noticed Tina and Mercedes, followed quickly by Kurt. Puck led Santana and Brittany forward.

"We were hoping we could all go in and see Quinn," Mike said softly.

Tina smirked. "Together as a club again."

I smiled. As if on cue, Bella came to check on Lyric. I ran up to her before she entered the NICU.

"Hey, is it okay for Quinn to have visitors now?" I asked quietly.

Bella smiled. "She'll be a little tired, but visitors are allowed."

I nodded. "Thanks." I turned around to the rest of the club. "Let's go."

Without the least bit of hesitance, I walked with Mr. Schue and my ten fellow Glee Clubbers toward Quinn's room. I held onto the handle and took a breath before pushing the door open.

Quinn sleepily lay on the bed, blinking slowly. She lifted her head slightly when we all came in the room, and I sat next to the bed to hold her hand. I smirked at her. Her eyebrows came together as she looked out at everyone, and she locked her eyes on my face.

"They all wanted to come see you." I shrugged. "I thought it was a good idea."

Will's POV

"This is great." Rachel smiled widely. "We're all in here together, just like we were only hours ago in the choir room. But it feels different now." She looked out at everybody thoughtfully, her large smile softening to a smirk. "Like we haven't been together in a long time."

"I bet Lyric's going to be okay," Tina squeaked quietly.

"Yeah. He'll be strong," Mike added.

Mercedes grinned. "Like his mom and dad."

Finn smirked and Quinn half-smiled, their fingers intertwining tightly.

"We've all been through so much," I breathed, and everyone turned to me. "We've basically taken the highway to hell. It's been a ridiculous journey, but we were together through it all. We made it. It's great for a teacher to see kids from all different cliques intermixing and acting as one." I smiled. "I've learned to love you all and, even though I've made a few bad choices, I hope you guys still love me."

"Of course we do," Artie said, grinning. "You're the best teacher ever."

"The most _epic_ teacher ever," Mike corrected.

"Couldn't have asked for a better Glee Club director," Matt admitted.

"You're a badass. There aren't many of those teachers," Puck advised. "So you're pretty damn awesome."

"You helped me become less shy," Tina peeped.

"You let me be honest about who I am." Kurt smirked.

"You're like a third dad to me," Rachel giggled.

"And like the dad I've never had. You know, other than Burt." Finn shrugged and smiled.

"You're helpin' me become the next Beyoncé," Mercedes laughed. "How could I _not_ love you?"

Santana shrugged. "You gave me something to love. And, yes, I'm talking about Glee."

"Me, too," Brittany agreed with Santana.

"You helped me through absolutely everything," Quinn whispered. "You're the best."

"I wasn't expecting all that," I sighed, grinning. "Thank you all."

At that moment, the twelve of them together, standing before me—the man they knew as their beloved Glee Club director—we were all a club again, a constant reminder of the love and great times we'd all shared time and time again, and would continue to do.

Suddenly, Lyric's primary nurse ran into the room.

"Excuse me," she huffed, panic in her eyes and her voice, "we have a problem with Lyric."

* * *

**HOLYFRICKENTOOTHPASTE. What's wrong with Lyric? :O You're gonna have to read the sequel to find out, which will be published later on!**

**I had a flippin' blast writing this story. I REALLY hope you liked it!**

**Sara, AKA TheUltimateGleek1234.**


End file.
